


HSH - En Coeur

by ApolloBlackwood



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Anger, Blood, Blood and Injury, Bruises, Comfort, Complete, Dancing, Deductions, Demon True Forms, Demon/Human Relationships, Doubt, Fear of Death, Guilt, Horns, Implied/Referenced Animal Death, Implied/Referenced Suffocation, Injury, Insecurity, Intimidation, Kissing, Lesson 20 (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) Spoilers, Licking, Light Angst, Light Masochism, Light Sadism, Love Bites, Magic, Master/Servant, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Mentions of Vore, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Mild Self-Hatred, Mild Sexual Content, Mildly Dubious Consent, Minor Violence, Misunderstandings, Multi, Muscles, Nudity, Partial Nudity, Past Tense, Prayer, Reader-Insert, Rituals, Sexual Content, Sexual Humor, Sexual Tension, Sleepiness, Sorry If I forgot to Tag Anything, Suggestive Themes, Switching, Tails, Tenderness, Threats of Violence, Touching, Video Game Mechanics, Wing Kink, mentions of gambling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:14:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26180989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApolloBlackwood/pseuds/ApolloBlackwood
Summary: “What is happening here, Barbatos?”, you asked. There was surprised silence on the other side of the line.“Listen well now, MC. The student council has succumbed to their demon forms. You need to restrain each one of them before their destructive drive awakens.”“And how do I restrain demons? They are way stronger than me.” You tried not to show it but you were scared. The demon brothers were really demons now? And you were supposed to stand up against them? On your own??“Take the pendant. You need to trick your opponent into kissing it. It will restrain them by itself.” Barbatos sounded strained. “Lord Diavolo and I hurry to the House of Lamentation as fast as possible.”“Okay. They just have to kiss a piece of wood. No problem”, you answered. You felt like laughing hysterically.You had probably imagined your return to the House of Lamentation after a nice holidays at Diavolo's beach and the Hot Springs differently. But maybe Lucifer wasn't wrong when he called you a magnet for trouble :^)- Reader doesn't have a specified gender -
Relationships: Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Diavolo (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Simeon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Reader, Simeon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Reader
Comments: 80
Kudos: 458





	1. Magnet for Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> Please skip/don't read parts that (might) make you uncomfortable. As you see in the tags I've written /a lot/.
> 
> That being said, the story is complete (~21k) but I will be posting after I edited the chapters to my liking.

_Let us go home._

„You attract trouble like a magnet“, Lucifer once told you with an almost crestfallen facial expression. But was it your fault?

Thinking about it you had never asked for this exchange program with the Devildom in the first place. Technically, you've been abducted and forced to take part in this against your will but you grinned and bore it before you could even find pleasure in all of this.

And now?

The House of Lamentation had been left unattended while you had fun at Diavolo's beach and in the hot springs together with the demon brothers. Obviously nobody had expected that this would turn out to be a problem, the least you because the House of Lamentation has always been a safe haven. So when you reached the cast iron gate that led to the dark gloomy house you had called home for a while now and pushed it open you turned around with a wide smile to the brothers, unsuspecting of the change that was about to take place in a moment.

„Home sweet home!“, you shouted.

„Yaaay!“ Asmo let go of his gigantic suitcase that he rolled behind him so that he could throw a hand into the air and cheer together with you.

„Finally I can sleep in my bed again“, Belphie grumbled, moodwise 180 opposite of both you and Asmo but when he noticed your gaze he lifted the corners of his mouth into a tired smile. „It's big enough for two if you want to see what I'm talking about.“

„Yoo, w-wait a sec there! Belphie!“ But before Mammon could interject Lucifer - grim throughout the bus ride but stone-faced now that you were home again - grabbed him by the collar with an exasperated sigh and tugged the loudly protesting demon with him. You crossed your arms in front of your chest, watching the familiar scene silently.

„Lucifer!! **Lucifer!** Let go of me, you can't treat the Great –“ The other demon brothers laughed. Lucifer walked past you dragging Mammon along effortlessly and stepped through the cast iron gate into the dark garden.

The moment he set his foot on the ground you felt a wild pain smite your head and screamed out. Your hand flew to your forehead and you stumbled backwards blindly but your foot got entangled in your own baggage and you lost your balance completely. With a suppressed soundyou fell on your ass.

_What the fuck was that??_

You opened your eyes and blinked wildly against the throbbing headache and dancing points in front of your eyes.

„MC! What happened?“ Hands grabbed you by your wrists and moved them to catch your gaze. Satan, who had crouched down next to you, put a hand under your chin and turned your head to look into your eyes, worried checking over you quickly. Asmo dropped the bags he was carrying and followed his brother's example. While Satan felt your heartbeat on your wrist Asmo pressed two fingers against your throat, leaned forward and pressed his lips against your forehead.

„No fever“, he stated, „but your heartbeat is way too fast. You seem sick, sweetheart. Let's go to my room and treat you quickly before it can get worse!“

He jumped up and pulled you to your feet so quickly that you felt slightly dizzy and had to cling to the arms holding you for a second while fighting against the darkness overcoming you in the corners of your eyes.

„I'm. I'm fine. I think.“ You blinked several times and looked around but … okay. Levi and Belphie stood there and watched you with sorrowful faces and Asmo was basically embracing you in fear you might keel over. Satan was holding your hand loosely but quickly let go with reddening cheeks when he noticed your lingering look … but where were Beel, Mammon and Lucifer? Had they not heard your scream?

... Or did they just not care?

You narrowed your eyes to slits and looked over to the House of Lamentation and yes, indeed, there were the three brothers, walking next to each other to the entrance without as much as looking back to you.

„So you don't care?“, you murmured to yourself and a strange feeling came over you, giving you new strength to stand upright but also making your knees feel weak at the same time. You breathed heavily out your nose.

„What did you say, sweetheart?“, Asmo asked and leaned forward, the tip of his hair tickling your cheek from the movement.

„Let's go in“, you said and let go of Asmo's supporting grip, straightening up to your full height, still glowering at the house's entrance.

_Unbelievable._

Seeing that you seemed to be fine the brothers visibly relaxed.

„Lololol, I can't wait to say Hi to all my Ruri-chan figurines!“ Levi hugged his travel shoulder bag against his chest. „I can finally unite the collection again! Gaah it's been too long!“ He walked on impatiently.

„Haaaaai~“, Asmo let himself be heard, picked up his bags from the ground, grabbed his suitcase and followed closely behind, with sleepy Belphegor acting as end to their line.

„Are you sure you're fine?“ Only Satan had stayed behind, his concern evident. You looked up to him, listened inside yourself for a second, forced yourself to smile and nodded encouragingly.

„You should still get an appointment with the doctor. You humans are too fragile and I don't want … I mean, **we** don't want to send you back to the human world with a grave disease. You might have caught something on the beach or in the hot springs.“ He sighed. „See it done, okay?“

„Sure, Satan. Don't worry.“ You reached for your suitcase but he was faster and grabbed it before you could. Your hands touched for a second and you retracted yours, your cheeks coloring into a dark crimson.

„Let me do that“, he said quietly. You thought about objecting but nodded, sucking your lower lip between your teeth. Satan was being considerate, that was all.

With a suitcase trailing behind him in each hand he walked toward the House of Lamentation as well. You followed wordlessly.

* * *

The House of Lamentation didn't look much different from when you left for your trip. You had to confess that you've grown used to its gloomy atmosphere (“Gothic”, maybe?) and that you couldn't wait to get to your room and throw yourself onto your bed. You had loved the time everyone spent together but nothing could beat a little time for yourself. Though … knowing the brothers _someone_ would be in your room already “accidentally”. Someone always was.

And somehow you looked forward to it.

“Satan, you don't have to bring my suitcase all the way. It's okay”, you said once you reached your floor and reached out for Satan's hand on your suitcase in expectation that he'd listen, stop and hand your suitcase over - but Satan didn't even slow his pace and kept walking straight on. You stopped instead.

“Ooo.. kaaaay?”, you dragged the word out and frowned as it still got no reaction out of the demon. Could it really be that he hadn't heard you? _Satan?_

A movement in the corner of your eye caught your attention. Since you were standing in the hallway you had the staircase and doors in your view as well. What you saw made your breath catch in your throat and your eyes widened because the sight was unexpected. But not only the sight; the feelings that came with it threatened to knock you off your feet.

Lucifer was coming up the stairs on a lower level but he was in his demon form for some reason. Waves of pressing negative emotions rolled heavily over you, alarming every fiber of your body. Your head screamed at you to run away and adrenaline rushed through your body, sharpening your senses – but your body couldn't move. You were frozen stiff.

_I haven't done anything wrong though. Why would I need to be alarmed?_

The atmosphere welling up from Lucifer even from this distance conflicted your rational thoughts. All of your instincts started running havoc. Run, they said. Don't keep on standing. Run for your life.

Lucifer reached the staircase turn and you knew that with one more step he would turn in your direction, lift his head and spot you and the sharp gaze would cut right into yours, killing off every last thought in your head. Lucifer already had an enormously present aura as he was but his demon form was outright oppressing for humans. Even during demonic events, when the demon brothers used their true form for entertainment, he affected you strongly though in a toned down version. This right here? This was the real deal.

When Lucifer turned his head and you spoke your last prayers in shocked silence hands grabbed you by your shoulders and violently pulled you away and behind the corner, out of sight. Somebody hit you against the turn's wall and you opened your mouth to gasp but a gloved hand pressed over your mouth and you found yourself eye to eye with Simeon.

Simeon??? In the House of Lamentation?

He lifted his free hand to his lips and beckoned you to be silent. The footsteps were still coming up the staircase and you quickly nodded at Simeon's request. The feeling of almost confronting Lucifer sat so deep in your bones that you wouldn't be able to formulate words even if you wanted to.

Simeon dropped the hand that was pressing against your mouth and took your loosely by your side hanging hands to drag you along the hallway, away from the approaching footsteps. Fortunately, at least you recognized where Simeon was leading you.

He pushed open the door to your room, let you enter and only when he closed the door behind himself he allowed himself to breathe freely. Despite the situation Simeon even chuckled.

“Well that was scary”, he said and leaned against the sturdy door, smiling up to the ceiling.

“Scary doesn't cut it”, you managed to answer. You stretched out on the carpet, staring up too with wide eyes.

_What the fuck_ , was the first thought you managed to formulate.

“You don't happen to understand the situation, do you?”, Simeon asked and slid down the door until he was sitting with his back against the door. The way he was talking he could've just as well asked if you wanted to join the tea party he planned on holding this afternoon, or asked how the trip to the beach had been, enjoyable? On the other hand it was hardly possible to upset the angel. Not Simeon. Not visibly, anyways.

“What the _fuck_ ”, you said out loud. You sat up and stared at Simeon. He winced.

“I guess you can put it that way too.”

“No.” You got on all four and pointed at the door. “ _What the fuck was that?_ ”, you repeated, slowly thawing and realizing how much your guts had twisted in fear and now hurt from the slow relaxation. You could hardly keep your voice down. “Why was Lucifer like that?! Why is everybody ignoring me? And why are _you_ here? This is the House of Lamentation.”

“I don't understand everything either.” Simeon drew his knees closer to his body and rested his elbows on them, burying half his face in a hand but reciprocating your gaze. He had a calming effect, his whole aura had that, otherwise you would've lost it by now. “I'm here because of Barbatos. He sent me a message earlier to check on something. On my way back I met Lucy and Mammon but they already were in their demon forms and attacked me. I barely managed to escape.”

“They _attacked_ you?”

Lucifer would never endanger the safety of the exchange students for Diavolo's exchange program if not for an extremely good reason. And not even then. But attack Simeon? _Simeon?_

“You felt it, didn't you?” Simeon rubbed over the side of his throat and didn't specify. You still nodded. You could feel the after effect of Lucifer's aura in your bones after all. “You say the other brothers ignored you?” You nodded. Simeon seemed to think.

“We should go check on them”, you suggested. “I have pacts with the brothers. They won't … attack me. … I hope. I don't know.”

“Barbatos said to wait.” Simeon pulled out his D.D.D. and unlocked it. While he was scrolling over the screen he unconsciously bit on his lower lip and mumbled to himself, concentrating. After a while you decided to inch closer and sit next to him, your back against the door as well.

"Luke explained where's ... the old messages ...?"

“You click on the chat. When you select a message it displays every message sent, ever.” You clicked on the chat app and Simeon hummed gratefully. It took him another moment to select the chat with Barbatos but before you could read what was written the screen changed and showed that somebody was calling – Barbatos!

Simeon picked up and held the phone sideways so that you could listen into the conversation as well.

“Hello?”, he asked. "It's Simeon."

“The book was there, wasn't it? As I feared, we're caught in _that_ timeline. Listen closely, Simeon. Lord Diavolo and I won't make it back in time but you have to stop the brothers before they leave the House of Lamentation. That's of utmost importance”, Barbatos got straight to the point. "First, find MC."

“What is happening here, Barbatos?”, you asked. There was surprised silence on the other side of the line.

“MC? Ah, splendid, this saves me a lot of time. However, you need to hurry. Simeon, did you pick up the item I asked you to take from my room?"

“Yes, I have it right here.” Simeon reached into his pocket and took out a wooden pendant. It looked like it was made of mahogany and looked noble despite its simpleness.

“You will need that. Listen well now, MC. Your time is limited. I will explain it once.” Barbatos paused slightly. "An ancient curse of the House of Lamentation that is usually suppressed by Lord Diavolo and me has been activated in our absence. The student council has succumbed to their demon forms and are not their conscious selves as you know them anymore. This means they will not necessarily recognize you and act based on their instincts."

_Not necessarily?_ , you thought but didn't dare to interrupt Barbatos.

"You need to restrain them before their destructive drive awakens. Only _you_ can do this."

"And how do I restrain _demons_? They are way stronger than me." You tried not to show it but you were scared. The demon brothers were really demons now? And you were supposed to stand up against them? On your own??

"Take Simeon's pendant. It's a magic tool that, based on its form, will restrain them by itself. You will need to trick your opponents into kissing it." Barbatos sounded strained. "Lord Diavolo and I will hurry to the House of Lamentation as fast as possible."

“Okay. They just have to kiss a piece of wood. No problem”, you answered.

“All the best to you.” Barbatos terminated the call. You felt like laughing hysterically. Sure. Trick the demon brothers, who most likely didn't even know who you were. Piece of cake.

“Piece of wood?”, Simeon asked and turned the pendant in his hand. He looked at you questioningly. “This … is not wood, no matter how you look at it, MC.”

“What's it then?”, you asked even though you couldn't care any less.

“Crystal. An angel's tear. Extremely rare.” Something in Simeon's tone made you regret the sarcastic undertone you'd asked your question in. You buried your face in your hands.

“Angels never cry”, Simeon added as explanation and turned the pendant in his hand. “I wonder … who Barbatos has this from ...”

He looked at you and exhaled through his nose heavy enough to make it sound like a sigh. Then he lifted his arms and pulled you into a comforting hug. "It's going to be alright", he whispered and caressed your hair soothingly.

“I really am a magnet for chaos, am I not?”, you asked calmly even though you felt like screaming.


	2. Sloth

_Slothful. So very slothful._

Entrust the important task of capturing seven wild demon brothers, who had possibly lost their identity, to the human exchange student where failure could result in one: death of said exchange student and two: possible world destruction? Oh no problem. You did something like this before breakfast every day after all.

NOT.

You inspected the pendant that hung on a delicate chain around your neck doubtfully and brushed over it with your hand, lifting it up a little. It was almost too hard to believe that this little token that Simeon had called “an angel's tear” would restrict a demon in his prime. And all they had to do was kiss it?

“Which brother should I start with??”, you had asked Simeon. Even though you had very good ties with all of them there was no denying that everybody was a lot stronger than you. Assuming they wouldn't recognize you or that you were complete strangers to each other – then you wouldn't want any of them as your enemy.

“When you first arrived to the Devildom, who of the brothers seemed the most sympathetic to you?”, Simeon asked in return. His eyes glistened in the half-dark.

“Mammon”, you said but also recalled what rocky start it had been to form a pact with Mammon and how much you had depended on both Levi and Lucifer to do so. Technically it had taken another eternity until Mammon started warming up to you.

“Then you have your answer.” Simeon inched to the side of the door to get out of the way, reached up for the door handle and opened it a bit, peeking into the hallway but nobody was around. You hesitated.

“I'll go see Belphie first”, you decided.

“Belphegor?” Simeon rarely gave away his feelings but the surprise in his voice was evident this time. You could understand his thought process. Belphegor _hated_ humans. At least he used to for the longest time and who knew what he thought about them now that he was in his demon form and maybe brainwashed? Barbatos had not specified how far the change in the demon brothers' character went but assuming Belphie forgot about you ... he might have forgotten about everything concerning the truth.

Also he had killed you once already. Like, really killed. You still sometimes felt his hands around your throat and heard his desperate laughter in your mind even though you tried your best to close that away. It had been in a different timeline, something that had been fixed by Barbatos and never really happened.

At least in theory.

Oh, and not to mention that, if Belphie was in his room and you had to go there to challenge him, then the probability that Beel was with him was almost a hundred percent.  _ Technically _ it was an extremely bad idea to start this mission with Belphie. Technically.

“He's the Avatar of Sloth”, you answered and hoped it sounded more convincing to Simeon than it did to your ears. From all seven sins sloth should be the easiest to deal with, right? Belphie was sleeping all the time anyways. What damage could come from a sleeping demon if all you had to do was make him kiss the pendant? “I befriended him the quickest I think.”

“It's your choice.” Simeon got to his feet, extended a hand and helped you stand up as well. “I wish you the best of luck. Don't do anything you will regret later on.”

_ If you live to regret it _ , hung in the air. Simeon would just never say it out loud. Not that you weren't absolutely aware of the danger looming over your shoulder.

And now it was you and the pendant against … everything. What if fate or luck (bad luck in this case) or thousand other factors ruined your plan? Did you even have a plan - like, could you call what you had in mind, a plan? - or were you just about to suicide? And if you did, would Barbatos come to your rescue once again and turn back time and/or shift the time line? "Game over, restart?" ...

_ No use getting cold feet now. _

You reached Belphegor's and Beelzebub's shared room without meeting anyone on the hallway, thankfully. You stopped, put your head back and took in a deep breath, preparing yourself for the impending task. Carefully you pushed open the door and peeked inside the room, praying to every god and goddess of luck you knew.

The room seemed to be empty. The lights were dimmed and the curtains drawn in front of the windows, not going easy on your human vision.

Quickly you sneaked inside, closed the door behind you as quietly as possible and moved through the familiar surroundings on tip-toe. Would hiding in the wardrobe like Luke back then teleport you to Lilith's hidden room as well?? This might be a convenient escape route. You just hoped you wouldn't need to test it out.

“Mmh ...”

You heard something in the silence and froze dead in your tracks.

_Don't. Move._

Nothing came out to attack you and nobody tackled you to the ground in killing intent so you allowed yourself to look around. You followed the sound of mumbling with your eyes and made out the source, connecting the dots as you realized who it was that you heard.

“... Belphie.” You exhaled the breath you hadn't noticed you had held in as you recognized the familiar shape of the Avatar of Sloth in his bed on your right, practically invisible in the dim lights, cuddled in his blankets and many pillows. He shifted when you heard your voice and rolled around but after a second of panic you saw that Belphie was sleeping soundly and didn't wake up from your presence.

_ Now, just kiss the pendant before Beel comes back. _

You had no way of knowing when Beel would return to their room since you didn't know where he had gone to. Possibly the kitchen? If yes then he'd be away for a while. But who knew if Beel hadn't had the idea of bringing food back to the room – then he'd most definitely run into you. So, you needed to hurry.

You pulled the necklace with the pendant over your head without averting your eyes from Belphie, stepped closer and leaned over the sleeping demon. Like this nothing seemed wrong with him. Belphie's sleeping face was so familiar to you because you have seen it so many times already … he seemed so peaceful that you wanted to reach out and run a thumb over his cheek or the slightly parted lips.

You shook your head. No no, you mustn't fall for these thoughts. Barbatos had been right about the dangers. The Belphie you were leaning over was not the Belphegor you knew. You had felt the curse go into effect before entering the House of Lamentation, had you not? And you had seen the brothers behave strangely. So you had to restrict your desires and do what Barbatos asked you to do.

You took the pendant and pressed it against Belphie's lips.

You waited.

Nothing happened.

What _ was  _ supposed to happen anyways? What was it that Barbatos said again?  _ Had  _ he even said anything about the pendant's effect???

You felt panic raise to your head. You had done something wrongly, hadn't you? Okay, no problem. What you needed was tactical retreat and to find a safe place where you could phone Barbatos from. You had his number in your D.D.D thanks to Simeon. You could –

Arms shot up unexpectedly and wrapped around your neck. You found yourself pulled down and your scream was muffled when the force made you plant your face in Belphie's shoulder, your own breath suffocatingly warm against your skin. He turned on his other side with you pressed against his chest tightly, and you struggled to get some space and air. With a gasp you finally managed to loosen the grip around your upper body, push yourself off by a bit and –

– found yourself eye to eye with Belphie, who was reciprocating your startled gaze sleepily. You gulped.

“H-hi”, you breathed. He lifted an arm and ran it through your hair, his eyes following the movement of his hand through half closed eyes, and the corners of his mouth turned upwards.

“I haven't played with anyone for a while”, he murmured and something in the way he said that made goosebumps run over your arms and down your spine.

“I-i ...” You weren't sure what you should answer to that. Did the pendant work?? Unfortunately, you had let go of your necklace and didn't know where it was. Though who knew how you were supposed to make it work anyways.

_ BARBATOS!! _

“Mmh.” Belphie pushed you down next to him effortlessly and wrapped a leg around around your hip, keeping you in place. Something hairy wrapped around your calf like an ivy tendril but it felt as heavy as a cat pressing against your leg. Belphie adjusted one of his pillows into a more comfortable position, allowing you to put your head on it, and rested his chin on top of your head.

You didn't dare to move while also thinking of a way to escape. If only you could phone Barbatos and ask for his advice!

Something vibrated against you and it took you a second to realize that Belphie was  _ humming _ and that you could feel it in his chest and throat. You put your head back a bit and by accident brushed his Adam's apple with the tip of your nose. If Belphie noticed your embarrassed reaction by the change of your breathing he didn't react to it.

Instead, he let his fingers run up and down your spine and over your shoulder blades in hypnotic movements. He was caressing your skin lazily but with an effect you didn't know he could have on you, especially in this intimate position and comparable darkness. Actually, this was comfortable. Belphie was warm and the natural heat coming from his body had a somnolent effect on you. The blankets you were wrapped in and the pillows were soft and fluffy. Maybe lying here wasn't that bad ... just a little break ...

The sound of the door opening and closing startled you from your half-sleep. Oh fuck - Beelzebub!

You froze and curled up tighter, praying that Beel wouldn't notice you in his brother's arms. Thank goodness that Belphie was asleep and didn't move right now! It seemed luck wasn't on your side though because heavy steps came closer and you  _ felt _ Beel's presence next to the bed. He leaned and towered over you – you stopped breathing –, reached out a hand and patted Belphie softly on the head.

“Sleep well”, he said. “I'll go work out some more.”

The steps left again. You couldn't believe it. How could Beel not have seen you? Sure, you were covered by blankets and Belphie's arms and his clothes but weren't demons supposed to see well in the dark?

You felt dizzy but allowed yourself to breathe out again. You only relaxed when the door opened and closed again.  _ Phew! _

What you needed to do now was find the pendant. It was somewhere on Belphie's other side because you had dropped it before he rolled you over. You just needed to extend your hand a bit, reach and ...

“Why are you moving around so much?”, Belphegor spoke up with a yawn. “Do you want more?”

Just as you were about to say No you could feel his arms slide under your armpits and Belphie rolled on his back, you resting directly on him now, your weight pressing on his lower body half. Your nose tips were away centimeters from each other. 

Breathing? How did that work again??

“Belphie ...”

“I don't mind.” His tail unwound from your leg and set you free but you knew that you were moving on thin ice. It wasn't that anything in Belphie's demeanor changed – he was still smiling lazily – but you knew the feeling that was coming from him. Belphegor probably didn't realize how the vibrations of his demonic aura changed as he gradually woke up. You had felt it once already and you knew how it had ended.

Deadly.

“Kiss me”, you quickly said as you couldn't think of a different distraction and pressed your lips against his before he could wake up completely and realize who it was he was rolling around the bed with. Belphie's lips were unexpectedly soft and parted under your resolute approach, allowing you to deepen the kiss immediately but you retracted with a short breath, unsure what to do of that reaction. Would this keep him sleepy and allow you to search for the pendant or would you just wake him up faster??

_ Excuse my _ _audacity!_ , you shouted in your head and softly bit on Belphie's lower lip, sucking on it. A shiver ran over your body when you noticed how Belphie's breathing changed. His hands wandered down your sides to your hips and moved you and oh god ...

It took you so much effort to reach into the pillows to your left and search for the pendant that must be there somewhere all the while you plucked on Belphie's lips and tried to not get distracted by the hands roaming over your body. The thought that you were sitting on his crotch and could draw out a reaction of him if you moved your hips ... the hotness that was slowly creeping up your two bodies with the promise of more ... it was so distracting. It was so hard to focus.

“So …?”, Belphie asked hoarsely, his dark eyes interlocked with yours. “You want to kiss me and then what?”

Your hand brushed over something sharp and you quickly closed your fingers around it and held the pendant tightly. With your other hand you pushed yourself off Belphie's chest into a half sitting position, now resting on his belly. You were sure that for a demon your weight wasn't a problem but you still took off some of your weight with your knees left and right of him.

"Belphegor", you whispered, surprised how different your voice sounded. His gaze was burning into yours and you hoped that your heart wouldn't explode in your chest right there. You had to keep in mind that this wasn't your Belphie but the Avatar of Sloth. Danger was coming from him and while you wanted to feel him on you ... no, stop.

You leaned over him, lifting your hand with the pendant enclosed in your palm so that he wouldn't see it, keeping his eyes prisoner with yours. You ignored the hands that played with the hemline of your top, you ignored the fingers tracing over your naked skin underneath, promising you a pleasant time.

You simply held your hand as seductively as possible to Belphie's mouth, not looking away from him for even a moment, hoping that he'd understand what you wanted him to do. Belphie complied and turned his head, keeping up eye contact with you. He pursed his lips more seductively than you have been and pressed a kiss first on your wrist, tracing his kisses higher and then -

There was a flash of light. And you fell on the empty bed where a moment ago Belphie had been under your hips, kept in place by your legs.

“Belphie?” You looked up and around. You jumped off the bed and even looked under the bed but he was nowhere to be seen.

He had disappeared after his lips had touched the pendant.

You stared at the sheets where he had been sleeping. Belphegor ... The Avatar of Sloth. Dangerous, no doubt, but so soft. So warm.

You lifted a hand to your lips and brushed over your lower lip, still feeling the tickling sensation of your kisses. You ... felt awful. This could have been differently. This could've been real. Would it have been, if this wasn't the Avatar of Sloth?

The first tears started falling down your face.

“Forgive me”, you said to no one in particular. Nobody could hear it anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to Belphie but the embodiment of sloth is always going to be from a different show for me. Trembling brains raise your hands ...


	3. Greed

_I'm not satisfied. I want more._

  
“What do you do when you've been struck down?”, you had asked Mammon once during lunch break. He had given you a short look and proudly explained that no demon would dare to lay a finger upon THE Mammon - except Lucifer.

"No, I meant that as metaphor. For failing."

"Ah shucks. Get up, what else you wanna do? Time's money and nobody ain't got no time wastin' it.”

“What if you can't?”, you had insisted.

“Are you stupid? Who can't get up after fallin'?” Mammon had laughed but when he'd noticed your facial expression his laughter had died away.

He had lifted a hand behind his head and averted his gaze. After eating silently for a while he had added with unusual seriousness: "It doesn't matter if you can't. You hafta, y'know? Nobody's gonna do it for ya. But don't get me wrong, human. Demons never fail."

Another pause, another quick look into your direction. “But let's just pretend they do. For ya, so that even you can understand. It's important to get up and try again. Try as many times as needed.”

“I see.” You had thought about Mammon's words for a long while. Was that how you saw the world too?

Strange how you remembered this conversation as you were sitting in the darkness underneath the staircase that was leading up to the attic. You twiddled the pendant in your hands, thinking.

_Mammon would probably just brush any failure off._

In your shared time together you had learned a lot about his attitude. Mammon shouldered every problem and beat right through it. He never let others' words get to him for long, brushed them off and followed his own path and convictions. Mammon was one of a kind and he had taught you many things in life – and even if he failed to cheer you up, after a talk with him you often felt better.

You put the pendant back around your neck, leaned your head against the wall and closed your eyes for a moment to bring some order into the chaos of your thoughts. Okay, you felt like the situation with Belphie had partially been a failure. And what you needed to do now was get up again. Try again. You had no other choice because you needed to fulfill this quest.

But why did you feel like you failed? Why had the encounter left a sour aftertaste on your tongue even though you technically succeeded? It was because Barbatos hadn't told you everything about the pendant there was to know, had he? But... why?

Barbatos was perfect in every respect at all times – Barbatos **was** perfection itself – and yet he hadn't mentioned that the demon brothers needed to kiss the pendant voluntarily. A small but important fact that might have costed you your life in the worst case. The question that was beating around your mind was, _why?_ How could this have happened? Did Barbatos simply make a mistake (if that was possible??) or might he have "forgotten" to tell you on purpose?

On the other hand, why would Barbatos need to do something like that? Assuming there'd be a reason he wanted you dead - there were easier ways to get rid of you, especially since it was _Barbatos_ you were thinking about. Who knew how powerful the butler really was, hahaha ... Wait, wouldn't it be convenient if one of the demon brothers had a little accident with -

You shook your head and scratched your head angrily. No no, why did everything had to get so complicated? If Barbatos had simply told you how the pendant worked exactly, you wouldn't need to overthink this now! As if you hadn't enough problems with confronting the brothers and staying alive already.

Couldn't it just be simple?

_Mammon._

You needed Mammon. You needed his head-on approach to things and his attitude so that you could snap out of this shit and clear your head. “Weird human”, Mammon would say in his straightforward rash way, “even if they wanted to kill ya they're not allowed to. Only the Great Mammon's allowed to kill ya, got it?”

Too bad things didn't exactly work out like you imagined.

When you knocked at Mammon's door your heart fluttered in nervous anticipation.

“Mammon, listen I –!”, you started when the door swung open but the words got stuck in your throat when your eyes met Mammon's. He lifted an arm on head level and leaned against the door frame, his face as cold as it hadn't been even at the beginning of your exchange trip. He looked downright hostile.

_Oh right. Not Mammon. The Avatar of Greed._

Seeing him like this made Barbatos' words ring a lot more true than it had felt with Belphie. But also the negative nervous feelings in your chest returned and made you feel weak in your knees.

“What d'ya need from the Great Mammon?”, Mammon asked in his usual loud volume and lifted an eyebrow. His eyes were burning into yours and though the effect of his demonic aura wasn't as powerful as Lucifer's you were _intimidated_. By Mammon.

“Ehm ….”, you squeaked. What _did_ you need from him? You could hardly say that you wanted to see him.

“Time is money and if ya ain't gotta say anythin' then bye.” Mammon took a step back and moved to close the door but you reacted quick-wittedly and extended your arms to stop him.

“No no no, wait! I uh – I'm here to … I have business with you!”, you exclaimed sheepishly and cursed silently. That would never work, would it? Goodness, you hadn't even the hint of a plan before you came here! The first thing you had wanted was Mammon's company after all, to calm down a bit.

“Yeah? You don't look like it.” He gave you a good look-over from head to toe that made your skin tingle where his eyes lingered and you tried to ignore the havoc this caused in your system. This must be the definition of being "checked out". “Whatever. Come in.”

 _Wait, really?!_ , you almost blurted out but choked it back at the last second. You were professional after all. Somewhat.

As you followed Mammon into his room you chewed on your lower lip. It was hard to shake the feeling of uneasiness. Mammon had been the first one to ever take care of you. He'd been the first demon brother you made a pact with. He'd been the first who warmed up to you. Mammon was _special_.

But as you looked at Mammon's familiar form in this familiar room you felt that something was missing. And then you noticed that Mammon's room looked slightly different too.

It was too clean. Mammon had a lot of space on the first floor with his stereo, billiards table and a separate corner with his bed and even the second floor was only occupied with his oldtimer Mercedes. But usually there were little items scattered all over the floor, little tokens and remnants that showed that somebody was living here. Now that they were gone the room seemed too empty, too void – too professional. Had Mam- no, had the Avatar of Greed already sold everything to make money?

“Have a seat.” Mammon pointed at his couch and dropped into the chaise lounge on the other side of the table in between, lifting one leg onto it and resting the other on the ground. When he noticed your hesitation he asked: “Somethin' wrong?”

“No, I ...” You shook your head. Actually, the room's atmosphere wasn't the only thing that had changed. Mammon was cooler too. You were used to having him around and boasting all the time and just saying whatever was on his mind while being both in denial about his feelings but also incredibly caring. Mammon might be simple sometimes but he was genuine and refreshing and you loved him too – but this Mammon, who laid half stretched out on the chaise lounge opposite of you and ran a golden coin up and down his fingers with a bored expression, was that the Mammon you knew?

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath before walking to the couch and sitting down. Even if Barbatos' information was incomplete – for whatever reason –, he was right about the curse at least. You still had to restrain the brothers. So you could get _your_ Mammon back if you just managed to make this Mammon kiss the pendant. You lifted a hand and put it on your chest, where the pendant was hanging heavily against your chest, hidden underneath the fabric of your shirt. How would you do this? Mammon wasn't Belphie.

“I'm here because of business”, you started and lifted your hand higher to your chin, racking your brain. What kind of business _were_ you here for exactly?? Hm … it would need to be something about money. Mammon wanted to make a great fortune and would never say no to a good deal. Otherwise you had nothing that'd connect him with you. Wait. Would Mammon kick you out when he noticed that you didn't know what you were doing? Oh-oh.

The pause seemed like an eternity in your head and you felt how your palms started sweating. You looked up and pressed your lips to a thin line. Meanwhile, Mammon continued running the coin smoothly across his fingers without averting his intense gaze from you for even a second.

“What do you want?”, he asked calmly and narrowed his eyes to slits.

 _Everything_ , the thought jumped to your mind. There were so many things you wanted and were within your reach. Getting them was possible. You just had to ask for them.

"You like this, doncha?” Mammon smiled cockily. The realization of what he had done dawned on you and you forced yourself to tear your gaze off him and resist the temptations. Nervously you rubbed the palms of your hands against each other and the slowly building up heat on your skin gave you an - admittedly desperate - idea. Not that you had many options to choose from.

"I can read your fortune!", you exclaimed. It wasn't a bad idea somehow. First you needed to avoid getting kicked out. You could do it if you showed Mammon that you were serious about the business part. Also you just needed to trick Mammon into taking interest in the pendant, right? Simeon had said it was worth more than it looked like.

"Ya know magic? You certainly don't look like it.” Mammon flicked the coin away from himself with his thumb. It flew through the air and landed on the table between him and you where it rolled around with some noise until it got to a standstill. Mammon beckoned you to come to him.

You rose and followed his order reluctantly. There was no space on the chaise lounge for you, especially since Mammon still had his leg up and didn't move aside. Unavoidably, you sat down on the edge in as much distance to Mammon as possible. Not that Mammon would have any of that.

He sat up with a jolt, enclosing you with his legs, his chest so close to you that your shoulder almost brushed his exposed skin. You didn't dare to look up and meet his eyes but kept staring at your own hands when he extended his and put it on your thigh with its palm turned upwards. His other hand rested on his leg somewhere behind you but you thought you could feel it close to the small of your back because your skin tingled strangely. Your throat got dry.

“Read, human”, Mammon murmured next to your ear. You felt like he knew exactly that you had just said something to avoid getting kicked out but you couldn't back out now, especially since Mammon was caging you with his body. The threat was a subtle change in the air, nothing outright explicit and more a feeling on your skin than actual danger. And then - when did you ever have the opportunity to hold Mammon's hand as much as you wanted before another brother butted in and interrupted? Your time alone with Mammon was never long enough, that you knew.

“Yes.” You quickly wiped your hands on your pants and enclosed Mammon's hand in both of yours. You lifted it higher to see better while you noticed how his hand was warm and pleasant against your skin. If Mammon could just stop leaning in so closely to you …! It was hard to focus.

“I see ...” You ran a finger over the lines on his palms. How did that work again? The line of the heart, the mind and what was the third one? You just knew a little bit about palm reading and hoped it was enough to go through the ... plan you had in mind. Did Mammon even know about these things? Palm reading and superstition wouldn't interest an Avatar of Greed, would it?

“What do ya see?”

_Stop distracting me. Please stop distracting me._

“I see great fortune in your near future." You tapped the middle line. "Your mind line is strong and shows your conviction. You were born with the right mindset for success, Mammon."

"Muhahaha! Of course, that's how awesome I am! I knew that already." Mammon lifted his free hand onto your shoulder with a bellowing laugh and closed the distance between you and him, grinning widely. His eyes were shining with excitement and he didn't seem to notice how he took the rest of free space between you and him that had been left. But you noticed all to well. "Go on, what else do ya see?"

"Um ..." Your mind was your enemy. You were fully dressed but being pressed against Mammon's mostly bare chest - something you could only dream of most of times - made your cheeks start burning and palm reading got a lot more difficult than it had been before. "This ... fortune. You need to be careful because here, see?, your lines cross. You'd stray from the path. But don't worry, if there's anyone in the Devildom who can avoid this fate then it's you." You cleared your throat.

"How would I do that?"

"You need to treat your next prize like your most valued treasure, not any worse or it'll be useless." _Like_ _Goldie. Your most valued possession._ You put your joined hands down again and turned your head to see if your words had the desired effect on Mammon and if he thought about the same thing as you. _Please fall for it!_

"Ugh, why don't ya go on praise me instead of this stuff about bad luck? Tell me how amazin' I am. You were slowly gettin' the hang of it, human." With a laugh Mammon leaned back in the chaise lounge but since his hand around your shoulder lingered where it was he ended up tugging you down with him. You almost caught yourself on Mammon's belt but in the last minute managed to put your hands right next to his hips on the chaise lounge instead. With wide eyes you reciprocated Mammon's gaze.

"I'm serious", you tried again. He needed to understand how important the pendant was. If your options had been limited before they were basically non-existent now.

"Listen." Mammon's smile slowly died away. The hand on your shoulder started casually playing with the necklace around your throat and all of his attention seemed to be focused on that.

With his next words Mammon sounded ... almost like that time when he had confronted you about your 'unfair' pact with him. He used the same tone as when he was shouting at you, cursed you as unworthy human who had tricked him into making a pact and wasn't ready to acknowledge you at all. Back then you had used the same pact to show Mammon that you weren't weak anymore.

"Maybe ya think it'd be funny to bullshit the Great Mammon. You lowly humans like to forget your place all the time. Lucky for ya I'm not in the mood to punish ya for that." His fingers closed around the chain and you felt how he pulled the pendant out from behind its cover underneath your shirt. You quickly reached up and closed your hand around it. Too late. "I smell treasure even when ya hide it away, that's how amazing I am! So don't get me wrong, I'm not doin' this for ya - I'll be doin' it for this baby."

He let the hand from your shoulder wander along the necklace's individual parts until he closed his fingers around your hand that was clinging onto the pendant. The movement gave you very conflicted feelings of opposing nature, alarming you. Not that you _wanted_ to have these thoughts right now.

"What do you want to do?", you asked, trying to stay professional. You weren't sure this was going the way you needed it to. You weren't sure about anything anymore.

"Why don't ya start with apologizin' to me. No, wait, get on your knees for me. Kneel and bow, frail human." He pulled you closer by your hand he held enclosed, lifted it up to him and tentalizingly slowly pressed his lips onto the back of your hand. Your ears were burning and so was the skin where his lips had touched you. "Let's do business like ya wanted. Give me your treasure. I'll treat it well. I promise."

The temptation was real. You wanted this. You wanted nothing more but to trust Mammon with your treasure. The plan had been to hand him the pendant anyways. And Mammon wanted it too.

"You can't have it for free", you answered, your heart racing. You didn't want to give in so easily. A part of you didn't want to be weak. You mustn't.

"Ugh. Ya should be grateful that I'd want it." Mammon let go of your hand, swung his leg around and suddenly you found yourself freed from your personal cage. You even shivered in the sudden freedom and watched Mammon get up, confused. "But don't ya dare give it to somebody else, ya hear me?"

"M-Mammon?" Mammon walked toward the corner of his room where the bed was.

"Get up, you'll play with me. I'll get it fair and square." He took a billiards cue off the wall next to his bed and picked a second one from the opposite wall. "When I win I'll get your jewelry." No discussion allowed. What Mammon wanted, Mammon got. What was up with that determination?

_Didn't he mean "if I win"??_

"Billiards?" Come to think of it, you had never played billiards with Mammon before. Kind of strange considering how much time you spent with each other - you'd think there'd be at least one opportunity to have a match sometime. Also, Mammon only won without fail if it came to gambling. And billiards wasn't gambling so you had a chance of winning, right?

_What's the probability that Mammon's going to kiss the pendant when he wins it in this match? Should I place my bets on it - or will mental gambling make me lose against Mammon too?_

Could this be the opportunity you were actually hoping for?

"What happens if you lose? What do I get in return?", you asked cautiously. No need to make Mammon wary.

"I'll spare your life." Mammon had his back turned on you but the way he said it and how he meant it was clear. The tingling threat in the air manifested into a demon's angry dark miasma that made it hard to breathe.

That ... wouldn't work out. Absolutely not. If you weren't sitting already then you'd fall onto the couch because your knees felt so weak and gave in under you. Mammon wasn't joking. Mammon was actually not joking.

_So if he wins he takes the pendant but kills me? I would need to win against Mammon to survive? Okay, cool. Sure. Where's the "fuck, go back" button here?!_

"Stripes or solid?" Mammon had already placed the balls on their designated spot on the table. He extended an arm with the second cue to you, an obvious sign that he expected you to come over. You got to your feet and walked as if you were walking on a ship on high sea, battling with the thought of just breaking into a mad dash out of here -

Your hands closed around the cue and you clang to it as if it were a lifeline. You couldn't run.

"Solid."

Mammon nodded once, stepped to the lower side of the table and leaned over it proficiently, ready to hit the cue ball and start the game. He landed a perfect shot that scored him two of his balls and caught you staring in the act. Judging by his triumphant grin he had his own interpretation of the reasons why you were staring but in all honesty all you were thinking about was the question if your pact with Mammon was still working. You couldn't back out or run but you could use the pact against him in the worst case scenario. It might turn out your only chance of survival.

"Okay." You tore your gaze off him and focused on the billiards table but your sight was blurry. “My turn.”

You inspected the balls' position to find the best angle, rounded the table several times and leaned over the edge, ready to finally take your turn. You took a deep breath and pulled back your arm. But before you could hit the cue ball you felt a hand under your leading elbow, holding you in place. You flinched because you hadn't heard or noticed Mammon move from his place at all.

“Don't disgrace yourself! If you strike like that you'll be shovin' the cue ball, stupid human! Not that I'd care if you make a foul right at the start, it'll be better for me”, Mammon growled. He put his other hand on your hip and pressed to adjust your weight, centering your stance. You allowed him to change your position but lifted your eyes to search for an explanation in his face.

"Come on, I'm not gonna bite ya. Relax." He avoided looking at you directly. Even in the Avatar of Greed traces of Mammon were still evident. That was somehow - reassuring.

“Good. That's better”, he murmured and made you return to the game. You didn't feel the change overly but realized that you trusted Mammon. “Let's do this.”

Concentrated you pushed your cue and - missed the cue ball by inches. Ah, there went your chance.

Mammon clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“Sorry”, you said sheepishly and turned when he let go of you again. He simply shrugged, twirled his cue in his hand, leaned elegantly over the table in one smooth motion and zap, zap, zap, zap … pooled all of his billiards balls in a matter of moments, so quickly that you took a second to realize what you just witnessed.

You blinked. What had - Wait … “Only one ball left for you?” What. How? Was he ... cheating??

“Yeah. Time's money." Mammon lifted a hand to his lips and winked at you. "You can't challenge the Great Mammon! Bow before my power ahahaha!"

_Wait. This was not how it was supposed to go. Not so fast._

Distraught you noticed a golden chain wrapped around Mammon's fingers. A wooden pendant was dangling back and forth happily from his wrist. Your hand shot automatically up to your neck but to your great shock your necklace was gone!

“Mammon!”, you exclaimed. “That's mine!”

"It's mine when I win the match. Ya see, I'm through." He hung the pendant around his neck and smiled at you the way he always did. "Only the black eight is left."

"Give it back! You haven't won yet! You have no right to take it!" You couldn't believe it. When had that happened? How had you not noticed that Mammon took off your necklace? Could Mammon really have stolen the pendant off your neck without that you noticed?! HOW.

You took a step forward and prepared to lunge at him but at the same time Mammon's facial expression changed once again.

"Wha- D'AAAAAAH! WHAT IS THIS SORCERY!" Mammon made a step toward you even though he seemed to fight against this urge, tripped, his arms flew through the air and you missed your chance to step aside. Mammon collided with you like pushed by an invisible force - oof! - and tore you ungently down with him onto the floor, landing directly on top of you. OUCH!

For a moment you were seeing stars and then felt Mammon put something smooth into your hand. He actually returned the pendant to you?

Breathlessly, with the first seconds of being able to see clearly again, you stared into his two-colored eyes that were just as confused as you were. What happened?, was tangible in the air between you and him. But then realization dawned on you and you understood. No, that wasn't sorcery like Mammon thought.

_Give it back._

It had been an order! Your pact with Mammon worked! It worked!

You felt like laughing - if you had the air for that. Mammon was pressing down too heavily on you.

"The hell?!" He grabbed the pendant back from your hand where he had put it just now and scrambled to his feet quickly, bringing some safety distance between him and you with a haunted face. Free from his weight you greedily filled your lungs with as much air as possible and coughed from too much. "The fuck just happened? What did ya do to me??"

"Oh? Did you actually think I was lying?" Cough cough. "I'm never lying. Everything I said was true. You ARE going to have bad luck, I swear." You might have sounded a bit more convincing if you weren't that out of breath. Maybe it would've been cooler if you weren't getting to your feet at the same time with pained expression (it hurt it hurt it hurt !!!). It would've definitely helped if you didn't have to cling to the billiards table not to fall over again. Ouch ouch ouch .... that had hurt so much. You needed to remember to sidestep such force next time.

"Bad luck?! For real? No no, I can't havin' that!" Mammon didn't know it but the fear in his face was all too familiar to you. Just - usually he'd look like this when Lucifer gave his infamous " **Mammmoooooooon?** " when Mammon was scheming something and got caught red handed by his older brother. Oh god, this time _you_ had done this. YOU. A human!

"Remember what -", you started but Mammon didn't listen to you anymore. He stood next to the billiards table with the necklace pressed against himself, trembling.

"It's gonna protect me. The baby's gonna protect me", Mammon mumbled like a mantra and quickly pulled the necklace over his head.

"Mammon, listen -" You straightened up.

"Goldie, where's Goldie?" Mammon ignored you completely and rounded the billiards table in hurried panic. Gone was his previously collected self when he jumped onto his bed and threw the pillows off, his hands searching for something frantically. Goldie was actually there on the mattress and Mammon immediately grabbed and showered his beloved credit card with kisses. You couldn't make out his mumbling but it was clear what happened when -

 _Poof,_ Mammon disappeared. He had _actually_ treated the pendant like Goldie, just like you had said he should do to avert his "bad fate".

The necklace floated mid-air before gravitation set in and made the pendant fall onto the mattress. The Avatar of Greed and his Goldie were nowhere to be seen anymore.

You were alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Editing, the real enemy 🥺


	4. Envy

_Sometimes I go out by myself and look across the water.  
_

You had spent so much time with each individual demon brother that you couldn't remember how you had lived your everyday life without them. Each one of them was unique in his own ways and you cherished your shared moments. No matter if wholesomely alone together, through messages and phone calls or in bigger circles where the brothers would discuss and quarrel with each other … it was part of your life too.

Sometimes you even forgot how big the difference between you and the demon brothers actually was.

They've been demons for thousands of years and have seen civilizations rise and fall. Before that, except for Satan, they've been angels and who knew how long they've been around already. Compared to them your lifespan didn't even have the life duration of a spark jumping off a match. Not to mention that you only heard stories about how the brothers used to behave before you met them. What character traits would come to light under the new circumstances with the curse?

“Levi?” You knocked on his room's door, trying to stay focused on the task. Was there anything you could do to prepare yourself? What could you expect?

Leviathan was the Avatar of Envy... but what did envy mean? How would it manifest? And would it be more dangerous to deal with than it had been with Mammon and Belphegor? On the other hand, both brothers haven't exactly tried to kill you, right? And then there was the power of your pact with Levi. If things turned out for worse you could protect yourself with the pact. Honestly, it was other brothers that you were more afraid of facing, for example the one you didn't have a pact with ...

You shivered.

“Levi?” There still was no response. You tried the door and to your surprise it swung open. That was strange – Levi never let the door to his room unlocked because he didn't want normies to disturb him. He didn't want anyone to disturb him, actually.

When you stepped inside the room was dark but for two light sources: the LED jellyfish above the bathtub that served as Levi's bed and several computer screens along the wall, running a video game. Levi sat on his gaming chair with his legs tucked up. His long tail hung off the chair's edge and slithered slightly on the ground while the demon kept his eyes on the screens without averting his gaze from a couple of … interesting looking characters. A chat box in light pink popped up and Levi grabbed his phone from the desk, mumbling something about “the right score” to himself.

You inched closer. Even under normal circumstances Levi hated being interrupted when he was trying to set a new highscore for a game. Right now he seemed completely immersed in what he was doing, plus he was wearing his headphones, blocking out any sound from the outside. He probably hadn't even heard you knock and enter.

_Or maybe his priorities are elsewhere._

You waited and hoped Levi might pay attention to you by himself but the only thing he did was throw his phone back onto the table and select option C in the chat box, continuing the dialogue onscreen. So much for that.

You wondered how he would react if you tapped him on the shoulder.

_"Hello Levi. Please kiss this pendant and then I'll leave again, promised."_

Sure, he hated being interrupted during his sessions. But what gives? You didn't have the time to wait endlessly. No matter how you turned your thoughts, in the end it all came down to one thing: you needed his attention. And since you couldn't be sure how long this video game was going to go on you had to come up with a method to make Levi notice you – preferably without immediate danger to your life.

You crouched down and extended your hand slowly toward the tip of Levi's long tail. The last (and only) time Levi had gotten so mad at you that he even dropped into his demon form was during your TSL showdown and you did NOT want to repeat this. Yeah, you had cheated your way to victory and what you were about to do now could turn out similar to back then. This time you just didn't have Lucifer by your side to protect you.

You ran your fingertips over his tail's scales, surprised about how warm they felt under your touch. Did Levi feel this? You had actually no idea about how Levi's demon form worked, there rarely was an opportunity for you to figure out after all. If he could feel how you traced and touched him more boldly the longer he refused to pay attention to you then he did a pretty damn well job with ignoring you. The only reaction you got from Levi after you closed your whole hand around his tail was moving it out of your touching range and even then it seemed more a movement out of habit than anything else.

_Welp. That's that. Nice try._

You straightened up again. Should you go for the shoulder tap? It was so hard to tell where the line between appropriate audacity and risking to die ended. Did you have a choice though?

The next thing that happened was too quick for your human senses to follow immediately. From one moment to the next the room's light seemed to be sucked away completely and left you blind and confused for a second. A blackout??

Your sight took another moment to adjust to the new situation. No, a blackout was impossible; not only did the jellyfish still glow dimly and serve as last light source illuminating the surroundings but also Levi was completely relaxed and unmoving, looking at black screens. What hadhappened then?

"Congratulations!" The word popped up and drew your attention to the screens themselves. Two more words spelling "Bonus level" followed, hovering there for several seconds before the credits started rolling.

"Eeeeh??" Levi pushed himself off the back of his chair, clinging to the armrests. "Credits roll?! Hold up wait wait wait, that's BS! Where's the bonus level??" His fingers flew over the keyboard and drew up a couple of blue screens on the side but ultimately Levi ended up skipping the credits and landed on the main menu screen again. He stared at the animations welcoming him back with his mouth half open, then his face changed into indignation.

You furrowed your brows. Just looking at the game's title appear on screen among all the cheesy animation made your head swim and still you went through the trouble of reading it.

_The reason I get to meet my perfect partner for life is totally a coincidence because since I haven't planned to go out today I happened to get sucked into the game world and ended up the strongest hero which made all of them fall for me! Part 2._

Was that what you thought it was? Seriously?

"No way, what's -" Levi tore down his headphones so that they dangled around his neck and rolled his gaming chair around. Your eyes met and Levi broke off mid-sentence now that he noticed you for the first time, only to catch himself again. "Woah woah woah, hey! Who are you and what are you ... WAIT. A NORMIE." He jumped up and closed the distance between him and you quickly. His intense stare was almost inappropriate.

“N-no, Levi .. I'm ...” You raised your hands at chest level to fend him off.

What? You WHAT?

_Hello I'm here on Diavolo's mission and you weren't paying attention to me but cool that you happened to finish your game. Can I interest you in this pendant here?_

_Hey yes, I'm a normie and in the normal timeline you and I - haha wait, I'm not lying I swear but it will sound TOTALLY crazy to you - we are actually close!_

You struggled for words but Levi wasn't waiting for an answer.

“Aha.” He rounded and inspected you like you'd maybe investigate a crime scene. He nodded knowingly, extended a hand and lifted one of your arms as if he was looking for something underneath it. You freed yourself from his grip, bewildered by his actions.

"What are you doing?" You beat away his hand that lifted up your shirt to expose your belly and took a step back into safety, hands pressed protectively against your chest. Since when was Levi this brisk? "Please don't do that!"

"I see what's up." Levi came to a halt in front of you and pressed the back of his hand against his mouth, his glowing eyes shooting lightning in your direction. It was paralyzing how oppressive a demon's aura could become if they got excited and though Leviathan didn't come close to Lucifer in terms of might the air around you felt so heavy that you didn't think you'd be able to move as long as he was there and jailing you with his eyes.

“The devs made a poggers job with you, final boss. Like wow, the easter egg?? The quality??” Levi reached out again. His hand hovered close to your cheek without touching you. “Your texture feels so real! Is that the next level of 3D?? Your design won't make five stars though. Not enough fan service.”

“Final boss?”, you echoed. “My design?” What was Levi talking about?

“Aaah … I envy the life of game protas SO much!! No no wait don't pay it any mind, this is not part of the game.” Levi bridged the distance and took your face carefully into both hands, his eyes shining. “I will defeat you! I don't know how yet but bring it on, baby!”

_He's … wait ... "part of the game"? "Final boss"?? Oh god. The bonus level. He's talking about the bonus level, isn't he?_ _Of that game there??_

You looked past Levi onto the computer screen which still displayed the main menu of that video game Levi had been playing. You blinked. It slowly dawned on you that Levi must be mistaking you for the “bonus level” that had been announced prior to the credits and was just skipped without starting.

Okay, no need to panic. Wouldn't be the first time you and he were captivated inside game settings. Just the other way around this time, no big deal. Except ... what exactly were you supposed to do in that game??

“Do I defeat you the same way I defeated the other bosses?” Levi let go of your head and timidly placed one hand on your waist. "Like this?" Even in the bad light you could see that his cheeks started burning and the heat coming from him in waves felt like sitting in front of a fireplace. He averted his gaze and his breathing grew irregular.

_Oh._

You understood. So it _was_ that kind of game. No killing game, just - okay, you could do that. You could do romantic too.

“Hey.” You reached up and brushed your comparatively cool hand over his burning skin. You half expected Levi to pull back and withdraw from your touch because of your boldness but instead the grip at your waist tightened and his fingers dug into your skin almost painfully.

“Woah, so this does raise the intimacy level.” His answer was a sharp exhale and you could tell, maybe because of the long time you knew this demon, how much self-control he was using to stay like this and not bring more distance between you and him. Normally Leviathan wouldn't go that far. A little bit of body contact, not more than necessary. He'd go a little out of his comfort zone for you but immediately retract once he had hit his limit. But since he thought you were a video game character he was tolerating more.

Realizing this woke an ugly feeling similar to a ferocious beast off leash inside you. What was this strange feeling?

“Talk to me, Levi.” You noticed that you were making use of the pact only after you had issued the order already and then it was too late to take back your words. However, Levi didn't seem to question in the slightest why he felt that he had no choice but to follow your words and you didn't feel guilty about taking advantage either. Game play mechanics, duh.

“What do you want to talk about?” He bit his lower lip and waited for an answer but you were distracted by one thought so that the question went over your head: you had never been allowed to touch Levi in his demon form.

Your hand, still raised at head-level, wandered higher, through his hair and to his horns. When your fingers examined the horn's structure Levi allowed it quietly and lowered his head, hiding his face.

You had never had the opportunity to do this after all. And why not? Why was it that now, with the Avatar of Envy, you could freely rub over the rough structure of his horns when you couldn't do the same normally? Was it that Levi didn't think you were worthy but some imaginary video game figure boss was allowed to do it? What made a mere 3D idiot more special than you, Levi's True Friend? Why couldn't you have this privilege anytime?

“Aaah...”

Your fingers froze mid-motion when you heard the throaty moan coming from the panting Levi whose face you couldn't see since he held his head lowered. You realized that you had become too immersed in touching him and pulled back with a hasty apology, startled by your own behavior.

Were you actually _envious_ of fictional characters for their interaction with Levi? Envious of PIXELS? No, wait, hadn't you just been envious of _yourself_ actually because under normal circumstances Levi didn't go out for you like this?? Or was this a mixture of both???

“Leviathan, I didn't mean to –!” You wanted to erase the last minute so badly but in reality this wasn't a video game where you could simply load your last checkpoint and try again. You knew exactly how much willpower it took normal Levi to simply open up to you and show affection he was comfortable with - you cherished his trust and loved your relationship with him. Some of your interactions together might seem simple to the outside because of stuff like being allowed to hug him but you KNEW that it was hard earned privilege that only you had. And that made you genuinely happy.

It came all the more surprising that Levi increased the pressure around your waist, tugged you closer and lifted his head. His eyes were pressed shut tightly when he gave you a quick awkward kiss onto the corner of your mouth. He immediately retracted and covered his lips with his sleeve, leaving only his eyes to see and his irregular breathing to hear.

You blinked.

“Th-this w-will show you! Hundred points for Leviathan!” His tail was lashing out nervously behind him, showing his state of mind. He almost knocked the gaming chair away cleanly but missed it by inches.

"Levi..." You took a step forward. This wasn't a game. You shouldn't... You couldn't make use of the situation. You couldn't force him to do something he normally might not be comfortable with. It wouldn't be an achievement or something to be proud of. It wouldn't feel right. "Levi, I..."

"This wasn't the right interaction, was it?", Levi mumbled. "You actually go the bonding route and not the love story. UGH I DON'T KNOW. I CAN'T READ YOU! WHY DOES A BONUS LEVEL HAVE TO BE THIS HARD?" Levi dropped into crouching, ruffling through his hair distressed. "ISTG THE DEVS. WHY. WHY CAN'T I BE GOOD AT ONE THING." He wrapped his tail around himself as he rocked back and forth on his feet.

_What?_

"Levi, what did you just say?" You crouched down next to him, unable to hide the tremor of your voice. Where did that come from all of the sudden? Was this ... real?

"ARGH, that's what you wanted to talk about, didn't you? You want me to open up about my brothers and gain that intimacy. Tragic backstory! You want to know why I envy ... - NEVERMIND. I can't! NO!" His head shot up, his face full of pain. "Don't make me do it! I don't want to go that route, to heck with that, I have enough deep irl already! STOP IT!"

He pushed off with considerable strength since despair added to his natural power and collided with you, knocking you both over onto the floor. His fingers dug painfully into your shoulders as he pressed you down with force that threatened to break your bones but Levi was holding himself up mid-air with you as support, keeping his distance. His arms were trembling.

"Why?", he asked. "Why do you want to know that?" His voice broke at the end of his question.

How? How did Levi's confidence crumble down from one moment to the next? Why did he look so vulnerable? Was this something the pure Avatar of Envy and Levi shared? How come you had never seen this side of him then? How could you be his True Friend and completely unaware of this? No, no this wasn't ... was it?

"You ..." Despite the excruciating pain that went through your body and wanted to knock you out unconscious you managed to lift your hand. With a pained grunt through clenched teeth you brushed the hair that was falling into Levi's eyes to the side. "You have no reason to envy your brothers. You're amazing too, Levi."

His tears hit your cheeks like scattered raindrops and ran down your skin, leaving wet trails. He bared his teeth.

"No, I'm not. Just look at Asmo. It's not fair that the gene pool favored him! Look at Lucifer, all high and mighty. Why can't that be me? Look at any of my brothers and how much they get while I rot here in my room. It's not fair. It's not fair!" Levi raised an arm and let a clenched fist smash down. He hit the floor next to your head, too close to you, and the impact was so heavy that it forced your head to the side, sending another wave of pain through your shoulders. You had to stop this. You had to stop him.

"There are people who admire and love you, Levi. _I do._ " Somehow you managed to stop yourself from screaming out. Somewhere you found inhuman powers not to break down. "You are important to me."

Levi's arm gave in and he sank heavily against you, shaking.

"Why can't I be like you? Why can't I have this confidence?", Levi asked against your skin. His voice was mere whispers. "Ngl, I want to kill everyone 'cause you have no right to be better than me. I'd kill you too but you're just a game prota. That's so unfair that I'm here and not where it's better."

"You are your own person, Levi. Don't envy others. It's not worth it." You wrapped your arms around him in an awkward hug, your world blurring into blackness. Your face twisted but you didn't give a sound. You were conscious of the situation's danger when Levi said the last words. You mustn't show your fear now. You mustn't give Levi a reason to start doubting if this was all a game. Your life was on line here. And since video game characters in this video game probably didn't show hurt you suppressed the sounds of feeling pain. You blinked against the darkness.

"Rofl. You're just pixels but you know how to lift spirits. I think you might not be so bad after all." Levi sounded calmer now. The worst storm seemed to be over. But you just couldn't get Barbatos' warning out of your head that the brothers could go on a world destroying rampage at any time. Barbatos hadn't exaggerated. "Meh, that's what you wanted, right? The love interest's intimate thoughts to make an unique bond. Is this bonus done now? Hundred percent complete?"

_Is it?_

"You have unlocked my secret interaction. Congratz." You moved extremely carefully and reached slowly for your pendant, trying to move your arms as little as possible. It hurt it hurt it hurt!

"Aw yeah!" Levi straightened up and climbed off you but the joy in his words seemed fake because he was trying so hard. On the opposite, he looked almost shy when he wrapped his arms around his own knees and looked down on your neutral face. There was a considerable pause while you tried to reach for the pendant without knocking yourself out or showing your pain.

"The devs don't collect cookies, do they? I don't want any of this leaked."

"Close your eyes, Levi." You waited until he followed your order and got to your knees with heavy breaths, less concerned with your facial expression now. Concentrating the last grams of willpower left you got to your knees and bridged the distance between Levi and yourself. You lifted the pendant up and pressed it with the last of your strength against his lips, desperately hoping that you did everything right this time.

For a moment you believed that you failed again but thankfully the Avatar of Envy disappeared in a flash of light and you were alone in his room again.

You collapsed and finally let out the held back scream. It hurt so much!! Why did it hurt so much? Was your shoulder dislocated? Did you break your bones? Just thinking hurt already. Your encounter with Levi would definitely leave ugly bruises ... It hurt much more than that though.

You stretched out and stared at the LED jellyfish from your perspective. They looked different. Somehow unsettling, from down here.

The rest of thoughts escaped your grasp when weakness closed up to you and the LED lights extinguished as well.

Darkness, soothing darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *thinks about how Levi has great ingame potential to talk about his envy aspect*


	5. Gluttony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added some additional tags due to some changes in this chapter.

_Well, you know what they say - maybe it's better that way?_

Give up. Close your eyes, lay back and give up. If things could only be that easy … Instead you had to stand up and go on, move despite feeling like you wouldn't be able to take another step. You were mentally and physically exhausted from everything that came from fighting the demon brothers. The immobilizing pain in your shoulders definitely didn't help your condition. And when you pictured the hardest parts that were yet to come –

_Don't think about it._

If you thought about it you'd collapse. If you thought about it, you'd not be able to go on, you'd give up. But you just had to keep going until Diavolo and Barbatos arrived.

“Just”.

You closed your eyes and thought about it after all. Maybe you weren't even doing this because of an order given to you? Maybe you kept going for the demon brothers because only you were able to help them? Not that working on your mindset made the impending dangers any easier. Who was still left? Asmo, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Satan - so to speak gluttony, wrath, pride and lust … and none of these sins was to be taken lightly. But what if Beel...

Beel had probably seen you with Belphie when he had come in, right? Since the possibility was there and he hadn't said anything - no no, you shouldn't get your hopes up. What if you were wrong? What if Beelzebub _was_ different, like every of his brothers? The Avatar of Gluttony was definitely one of the most dangerous. Lucifer had warned you about regular demons eating you wholly when you'd first arrived to the Devildom, not to mention that he had warned you of the embodiment of gluttony himself. Getting your hopes up that Beel might not have been affected by the curse and then having them shattered by reality would be indefinitely cruel. And you were in no condition to face such a dangerous sin right now.

But what if you were right? This was _Beel_ you were talking about. He might be the Avatar of Gluttony but most of times he was placid and showed an amazing amount of self-control even when it came to food. You had never seen him as truly dangerous or threatening to you. Sure, sometimes he'd tell you that he'd eat you from head to toes but it only happened when he was mad at you and no actions followed his threat. Plus he usually added that you probably wouldn't taste well so this whole thing was more of an insult than actual danger. Though since "I'll eat you" in this case would end absolutely unpleasantly for you, should you actually feel insulted about it?

The other thing about Beel you had to consider was his body build. None of the demon brothers – except, of course, Lucifer – put much effort into hiding their perfect bodies so you knew how buff everyone was. Beel however … he was in a whole different league. His body was the work of hundreds years of training. In terms of build he'd definitely be stronger than his brothers if not for their natural power ranking - and compared to you? Holy, no. You couldn't compete even if you tried.

Beelzebub's strength was definitely another danger to add on the list of things for you to consider. There was a lot that could go wrong when you'd find yourself one on one with Beel and maybe you were naive to tell yourself that everything would be okay. On the other hand you didn't see another way out. Once your thoughts had reached this stage you knew that it was decided: Next stop, Beelzebub.

You half hoped that Beel might no longer be at the House of Lamentation's training rooms but when you opened the door there he was, sitting on a low workout bench with his bare back turned to you. His skin was glistening with sweat and he was breathing heavily. However, there was a different reason why your own breath caught in your throat. Even the ancient Greek engravers tried to capture such body's beauty in stone and marble statues and Renaissance painters were doing their best to mimick the same on canvases. And yet … the play of muscles on Beel's back when he lifted a water bottle over his head and emptied its contents on his hair, especially his muscular shoulders and the play of muscles around his wings … the sight hit you unexpectedly.

Not that you hadn't seen Beel half-naked more than once. Not that you didn't treasure some fotos from groupchats or directly sent by Asmo to you on your phone. Not that you had just today returned from a short holidays at hot springs where you had seen him like this almost all the time. It was just ... everything seemed so unreal and far away because so much had happened already. And seeing Beel like this felt like a piece of normality that you didn't have right now.

Beel shook his head wildly and sent little drops of water everywhere around him. With a sigh he stretched, ran a hand through his wet hair and then his gaze happened to fall on you while you were staring wordlessly from the door.

"Oh hey." He smiled. "It's you."

“You … you know who I am?” You couldn't believe it. The lump in your throat grew bigger, too hard to swallow, and your eyes started watering. You wished you could leave the door frame that you leaned against as support. Instead you blinked away the tears that threatened to drop.

“I… don't remember your name, sorry. I know that you were important to me though. When I look at you there's a warm feeling in my chest.” Beel rose and came closer until he was towering right in front of you so that you had to put your head back to meet his eyes. You inhaled shakily. This was too nice to be true, wasn't it? After everything you had gone through with the other brothers... could there actually be some mercy for you? A breather? Would your hopes not shatter for once?

You were so deep in your hopeful thoughts that you didn't anticipate Beel's touch when he extended a hand to put it on your shoulder. With a pained scream you flinched back and your knees almost gave in under you. But Beel immediately moved his arms to catch you around your waist and helped you straighten up again, his face twisted in worry.

“You're hurt. What happened?” What could you even answer to that? Where could you start?

You shook your head with clenched jaws and avoided Beel's searching gaze with new tears in your eyes, hoping that he wouldn't insist on an answer. Thankfully, he understood your silence and instead added: “I can treat you. I have newt balm, it can heal wounds instantly. It doesn't smell that tasty though.” He motioned toward the bench where he had been sitting. “Can you move there and take off your shirt? I'll go get the balm.”

As much as you'd want to, you felt so weak on your feet. Especially now that it was basically confirmed that Beel wasn't dangerous and you felt tension fall off you you felt the pain in your shoulders more intensely than before. That was what you also told him.

“Okay.” Without further ado Beel bent down, put an arm under your knees and the other across your back so that he wouldn't come into contact with your hurting places. It must be straining to pick you up and hold you like this but Beel lifted you up easily and though he tried to neither press you against his wet chest nor touch your butt too many times he failed miserably. When he carefully put you down onto the bench your skin tingled where he had touched you but in comparison to the burning pain this was pleasant.

“I can't move my arms”, you explained to him. "It hurts too much." Still crouching in front of you Beel turned his head to you and searched for something in your eyes, permission maybe or maybe an explanation for whatever questions were haunting his mind. Then he muttered an apology and reached for your shirt, and before you could stop him he cleanly tore it to expose ugly bruises that bloomed from your collarbone over both your shoulders. With a little scream you happened to give it a quick look before your head shot up again to fixate on Beel's face instead because you didn't want to see your injuries. His expression gave nothing away of what he was thinking; instead he got up, disappeared for a minute and when he came back he held a balm tin in his hand.

“It's cold”, he warned you, swung a leg over the bench and sat down with his upper body turned to you. "I'll try to be careful but yell at me if it hurts, okay?" He dipped two fingers into the balm, extended his hand and drew his eyebrows together in concentration while you didn't avert your gaze from him. Did Beel notice how he was silently moving his lips as if he was talking to himself when he was concentrated?

You were expecting the touch but still flinched when his cold fingertips touched your skin. Beel's eyes immediately shot up to look at you and you shook your head. "Go on", you asked him to and pressed your lips to a thin line, diverting your attention to his long eyelashes, to the sharp lines of his chin and jaws, to the little scars that were sharp like flat crystals in even surface.

“You're not supposed to use newt balm too much”, Beel spoke up, almost humming, rhythmically rubbing the balm onto your skin. As low as he was speaking his voice had this pleasant undertone that asked for your attention and made you want him to continue talking, hungry for more. "It's important to listen to your own body. Its always talking to you, sending you signals and so on. This newt balm silences these signals." Beel got up, rounded you and switched to your other shoulder. He moved the necklace's chain to the side to apply balm underneath it too and didn't notice how you - with your treated arm - reached up for the pendant to hold it. Since the movement had happened subconsciously you felt to your surprise that you were better. But Beel hadn't lied about the stench either. You smelled as if some animal had rotten away on your skin.

Come to think of it … what if newt balm was actually made of newts, which meant that _actually_ an animal was rotting on your skin??

_Don't think about it._

“Does that sound strange?” Beel laughed awkwardly.

“No, I think I understand what you mean. Just … do _you_ ever have problems with your body? You're the Avatar of Gluttony, you can eat as much as you want plus you have this perfect body anyways.” You felt your cheeks heat up when you allowed yourself another look over his toned chest.

“Ah, I used to hurt myself with too much training. You have always to start with little bits and then go for more. Results take time. After some hundred years I understood ... no. I ... don't remember clearly." Beel let his hand sink and his face grew dark. He had finished applying the balm and you could feel how it took effect. The pain in your shoulders was subsiding and you were finally able to breathe more freely.

You sat side by side without saying anything for a while, both of you thinking your own thoughts. Beel said he couldn't remember - that was due to the curse, wasn't it? And around your throat hung that one thing that would end the curse for Beel right here.

“Are you hungry?”, you asked when Beel put down the newt balm onto the bench. You weren't ready to leave your merciful haven just yet. Maybe it was selfish but you wanted to go a little while longer. You felt ... not exactly happy but relieved. Somewhat relaxed. There was nothing wrong with spending a little more time with Beelzebub, was there? Grab a bite to eat and forget your duties. Spend more time together.

Beel stood up wordlessly, walked over to a dumbbell holder and grabbed a towel that hung there. He wrapped it around his neck without letting go of both its ends and stood with his back turned to you so you had to go by his tone when he said shortly: “No.”

“We could go – wait. Did you just say _No_?” You had continued automatically and paused, wide-eyed. Did you get that right? Beel had said "no" to food?

“I'm not hungry. I'm going to work out some more.” He left. You stared after him.

“Are you feeling unwell?” You got to your feet carefully and noted that the motion wasn't accompanied by pain. You lifted one arm, then the other and quickly dropped them again when the lumps of your shirt threatened to fall off completely. You gave it a quick look and confirmed that the bruises along your skin were gone; the only thing left was a film of slimy substance that smelled awfully.

Quickly - and finally painlessly - you closed up to Beel. It worried you that he hadn't answered your last question. The training room in the House of Lamentation was spacey, yes, but since you two were the only ones here there was no doubt that he had heard you ask if he was okay. There was no way he couldn't have. Why did he ignore it though? And why so suddenly?

“Hey Beel?” He had laid down on a heavy lifting workout bench, adjusted his insectoid wings and lower body until he was comfortable and lifted his arms. You leaned over his head so that you could meet his eyes when he put his hands around the pole with weights. Your eyes met and you tilted your head in silent question.

"Can you do me a favor?”, Beel asked. “I need a challenge. Sit down on the pole, okay?”

“Wha ...” You blinked. “That?” You pointed at the weights Beel was holding tightly but hasn't lifted off their base yet. “You sure?” Because you hell of weren't. Well, at least Beel didn't seem angry or anything. When he ran off you thought he might have been pissed off by something, possibly by you. Good to be wrong.

“Do it for me. I'm used to these weights already.” He quickly licked over his lips. “Take it as repayment for the newt balm?”

“Just like that?” You hesitated but there was no real reason to protest. Your arms and shoulders weren't hurting anymore and Beel was to thank for that. Also you _had_ wanted to spend more time with him. So … after another second of hesitation you took off your shoes and socks, fixed the sad remnants of your shirt as best as possible and cautiously climbed on the little space of workout bench where Beel wasn't lying on or that wasn't occupied by his wings. Already dangerously off balance you carefully sat down on the piece of bar between Beel's tight grip. This wasn't exactly what you had envisioned but okay.

“How's that supposed to work?”, you asked. You were sitting wobbly on this small edge, tiptoeing on free space next to Beel's body and if he were to lift the weights you'd hundred percent just fall off.

“Don't center your weight. Hold your hand here”, Beel let go off the pole, moved one of your hands along the pole to the side, “and here”, repeated the same process with your other hand, “and spread your legs a bit. It will help you balance yourself. Hook your legs into my arms if you want to. Don't worry, I'll catch you if you fall.” He returned his hands to their original position and moved his lower arms to what seemed rather uncomfortable to you. Your head started feeling hot when you spread your legs wide enough to sit less wobbly.

“Tell me immediately if I should jump off”, you murmured instead of explaining that you wouldn't be able to hold like this for very long. Not to mention that you still to almost 99 percent probability would fall off as soon as Beel'd lift the weights off their base. Come to think of it, you should've just said no to his request. But now it was too late for regrets.

Beel pressed his lips together and concentrated on his breathing. Without forewarning he slowly lifted the weights up and down and up again, repeating several times under hard exhales and sharp inhales. He handled the exercise so controlled and well and kept the pace so steady that the pole didn't shake at all and you could hold your balance though you clung to the pole very tightly. Funny enough this was a feeling you'd definitely never get used to but after a few lifts you sort of enjoyed what you were doing. Still, you were relieved when Beel did the last lift and put the heavy weights back into their standard position. He sat up, grabbed you by your waist and lifted you from the pole down to the ground again.

“Thanks”, he panted and let go of you. Little rivers of sweat ran down everywhere on his skin but he flashed a wide smile at you. “I'll have a shower now.”  
  


* * *

  
Technically you shouldn't be nervous. There was no reason to. And still, as you sat on Beel's bed and tried to think about something else than a showering demon you felt tingly ants in your belly. You dug your fingers into Beel's bed cover and looked over to where Belphie should've been sleeping. It mixed your nervousness with a sting of guilt and so you threw yourself back and stared at the room's ceiling instead, trying to think about nothing.

The door to the bathroom opened with a quiet _click_ and the sound of bare feet on tiles before Beelzebub stepped onto the carpet between the beds made your cheeks burn for some reason. This wasn't helpful with the pictures in your mind but you stubbornly kept looking up to the ceiling until a familiar friendly face leaned into your field of vision with a smile. Beel was rubbing his hair with a towel and said: “You can go shower too. I put one of my smallest shirts there for you.”

“Okay, thanks.” You jumped up, hurried to the bathroom and jumped under the shower but soon you were confronted with several problems: firstly, you didn't have your own shampoo. The decision you had to make was between using Belphie's or Beel's shampoo and so you ended up using both. Secondly, which tied into the first problem, was the feeling of guilt because you needed so much shampoo. The newt balm was like snail's slime on your skin and just refused to come off your skin no matter how hot you turned up the water and rubbed, plus the stench!! was!! terrible!! And thirdly, when you were finally able to get the slime off yourself as best as you could it turned out that the "smallest shirt" Beel had laid out for you was still several sizes too big.

When you left the bathroom accompanied by clouds of steam Beel laughed. You turned your pokerface in his direction and tied the knots around the hem and your waist tighter without commenting. 

"So." You walked over and sat next to Beel on the bed. He tilted his head and got serious again when he heard you continue: "About the gluttony part. You're not hungry?" You had a job to do. No matter how nice it was with Beel you had a job to do. And it was unsettling that Beel - despite working out since you were with Belphie - hadn't eaten anything. No, not even unsettling. It was impossible. And dangerous. So you had to act before things started going south.

"You know how Belphie and I are emotionally connected?" Beel sighed and lowered his head so that you could only see his head's top and his coiled horns. "Belphie doesn't feel well. I can feel it. He's so angry and sad." He put an arm on his belly.

You gulped. Those emotions, were they because of you? Did you make Belphie sad and angry? Or was that the curse's fault? Barbatos had mentioned that the drive to destroy the world would grow more intense the more time passed.

"I'm sorry, Beel." You extended an arm and put it on Beel's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. He lifted his respective arm and wrapped his hand around your wrist. After a while of sitting silently he continued calmly.

"To be honest I really want to eat. I'm _famished_." He lifted his head and when you met his eyes you flinched back from his hungry look but his iron grip held you in place.

_Oh no._

"Beel", you squeaked, the familiar creeping fright getting hold of you. The air, the tension between Beelzebub and you grew heavier and you recognized the surefire signs of the demon form taking over. The friendly atmosphere was gone, melted away like ice cream under the burning sun. You were too late - "Beel, please. Don't do anything you'd regret."

"I'm the nice one. The calm one. Everyone's emotional big brother. The one whose only interest is food. But have you ever thought about why I have to be like this?" He bared his teeth and turned his head so that his nose was resting on your forearm. His eyes were deadly daggers when he stared at you sideways but the anger wasn't directed at you. Not at you specifically. "I don't have to control myself when it comes to food. I don't have to be the mature one or have a guilty conscience when it comes to food. I don't have to confront loss and fulfill expectations easily."

"Beel ..."

"Your skin is so soft. You smell so nicely. Why can't I treat you like food? Why do I have to restrain myself even now?" He growled the last words and bit into your forearm.

"OUCH!" You twisted your arm under his grip but you were nothing against Beelzebub's strength. Adrenaline rushed through your body when he bit again and again and you threw your head back, screaming: "STOP BITING ME!" The pact took instant effect. "Let go of me!" You freed your arm that felt strangely limp and pressed it against yourself, breathing uncontrolled in panic, eyesight blurry. You mustn't pass out. "I'm not food!", you stated the obvious.

"Why?!" Beel got to his feet, still too close, still upset. "I AM TIRED OF BEING NICE!!"

"Let's calm down and go get something from the kitchen! You're hungry." You screamed and protectively threw your hands over your head when Beel pushed you down onto the bed, _don't hurt me don't hurt me don't hurt me!_

"Look at me, human!", he shouted, "Confused, with memory lapses, and still too nice to just do what I want! I'm tired of it! I want to eat you from head to toes until nothing's left of you. But I'm stopping myself. I'M ALWAYS HOLDING BACK! I DON'T KNOW WHY I HAVE TO ALWAYS HOLD BACK! WHY?!"

"You don't want to repeat what happened with Lilith!" Once the name was out Beel's face twisted and all traces of anger disappeared from his face. This name... this memory. Even after he had forgotten so much he still remembered this. He still had his regrets. He still had his reasons to hold back. Of course.

"What." His shoulders twitched.

"You know that I'm important to both Belphie and you! Don't lie to yourself, Beel, that's why you hold yourself back, you don't want to repeat past mistakes! That's admirable, Beel, ADMIRABLE!" You reached with your healthy hand for your necklace, fiddled with the chain until you held the pendant in your hands. You were shaking. "Beel please. Take this."

"This -!" His eyes widened. "Why do you have this?!"

"Someone gave it to me. Listen, just -" You didn't get to complete the sentence because Beel grabbed the pendant and pulled it so hard that the thin chain around your neck snapped in two halves. He turned his back to you and the last words you were able to make out before Beel disappeared in a flash of light were "forgive me". They made no sense no matter how you thought about it. However, fact was, Beel was gone and you were alone. As quickly as it had come over you, it was over again.

You pressed your hands against your face and took several breaths to calm down, sinking back in Beel's bed, ignoring the needling pain at your neck. It would worsen later but you still had some mercy for now. You only hoped that this nightmare would take an end soon. You couldn't take this any longer. You couldn't. This was masochistic, to bond with the brothers and then see them succumb to the sin they were the embodiments of. It was masochistic that they didn't remember you nor the special bond you shared with them but you remembered all of it. It was masochistic to make use of their insecurities and trick them like this, or learn about sides of the brothers you never knew existed.

Something warm fell and ran down your cheek and annoyed you wiped it away. When you lifted your hand and saw what it was your brain took a moment to process it.

Blood. Blood was running down your arm - the one Beel had had in his steel grip - from several teeth marks on your skin. They were only surface scratches, bleeding lazily and you couldn't feel the pain yet due to adrenaline pumping through your veins but it was only a matter of time until you would.

However, not your scream echoed through the House of Lamentation. This one was unrestrained, wild and angry and alarmed every remaining of its denizens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taro's (my) voice: "Aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you just wanna go apeshit?"


	6. Wrath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes idk what to answer to comments but I definitely don't mean it personally so for everything that I haven't answered, thank you for your comment :)

_I want to be more than this. I know I can._

Time was running out.

Your hands were shaking violently when you used the sad remnants of your own shirt as bandage for your injured arm. You weren't in control anymore – assuming you ever had this situation under control. Sure, now you at least knew that the captured brothers were still in the House of Lamentation. But what were the chances that – if you had been able to hear Beel's inhuman scream – the remaining brothers did not?

Yes, the chances were going to zero. And worse yet, the remaining brothers were Asmo, Lucifer and Satan. Three forces to be reckoned with in their natural states, impossible to fight against in their demon forms but alarmed and prepared against intruders?

You took a deep breath and made the last knot, ignoring that your shirt's fabric was painted red again already. Time was running out and you could hardly calm yourself with the thought that you at least had pacts with two of the three remaining brothers. And even with the past experiences you couldn't be entirely sure what this pendant of yours was …

Another shiver ran over your spine but this time it made you feel hot. Despite having taken a shower just recently there was first sweat building up on your skin and for a moment you asked yourself if you could get sick from injury and stress that quickly. Did wounds afflicted by demons work differently on humans? It definitely made walking more difficult; your head felt heavy and your legs threatened to give in under you with every step. Just, you couldn't allow yourself any break now.

You reached the door and stumbled out into the hallway, dragging yourself forward against the wall, focusing on one step after the other. One step. After the other. One-

„GET DOWN!“

Things happened way too quickly. Blinding green light flashed through the hallway's window to your side, followed by earshattering thunder and bursting glass, and at the same time weight knocked you off your feet and to the ground. Somebody pressed against you protectively when glass shards and debris from the wall fell down on you, and then rolled off immediately once deafening silence set in. You turned your head and met eyes with familiar light ones.

„Simeon?“, you mouthed – you couldn't hear your own voice – and looked the other way, where seconds ago the hallway had been completely fine and now a gigantic hole throned in nothingness. Simeon's hand closed around your shoulder and he dragged you with him, away from the crumbling edges, in direction of relative safety. From there you could see it.

In some distance in the garden of the House of Lamentation was a thin tornado-like light that reached from the dark green glowing clouds to the ground, where a small figure extended both arms to the sides in some sort of incantation. The flashing lightning was too bright for your eyes so that it was a blessing when Simeon pressed your face against his chest and covered your ears with his hands – only to cast some of his own magic and heal both your hearing and sight.

„CAN YOU HEAR ME?“, he shouted over the noise that steadily sunk into your consciousness as Simeon's magic started working. You almost giggled when you thought that this situation might as well have been in a disco, with flashing lights in natural darkness and noise so loud that conversation was almost impossible. Sure it would've been hysterical giggling and whatever Satan was doing was nothing to be laughing about but it was surreal, so surreal, what the fuck.

„Simeon.“ You lifted your head that was still craddled between Simeon's hands, and listened to his words as if they weren't directed at you, from far away.

„YOU HAVE TO STOP HIM. I WILL LOOK AFTER LUCY AND ASMODEUS BUT YOU NEED TO STOP SATAN!“ He let go of you and pressed the familiar pendant into your hand, closing your fingers around it. „GO!“

You felt the building up sweat, exhaustion, hysteria, reluctance, pain, … and got up, stumbled into the opposite direction to the staircase that would lead you down to the garden of the House of Lamentation. You ran as quickly as possible through the entrance hall, basically broke through the door and got outside. You might say, your last preparation was to lift your hands and put the pendant around your throat, or maybe it was a deep breath before you took the last steps toward the flashing lights where the heat was building up even more until it felt like hell itself. But whatever mental preparation ever might've been possible for you was shattered by how different Satan was.

By name Satan was the Avatar of Wrath. That maybe held true for how he behaved with Lucifer because their relationship wasn't exactly easy. Other than that Satan had never given a reason for his choice of sin.

Never, until now.

When you approached him you were able to see that his face was downright hostile. Gone was the friendliness in his eyes due to the reflecting green lights in them and his usually polite smile had evil sharp edges when he turned to look at you.

„I've been waiting for you.“ He spoke calmly without raising his voice and technically, _technically_ , his words should've been swallowed by the groans coming from the thunderstorm in front of him. You were frozen to the spot when he came closer, petrified by his aura. Oh yes, this aura spoke of endless anger. Anger about so many things that its sentiments overwhelmed you. „Welcome, honey.“

He lifted a hand and ran his thumb over your cheek. You tried to process the _honey_ part with half opened mouth in search for an answer, tried to align the different sides of his behavior with each other. What was the meaning of this?

„This is the first sacrifice“, he hummed, snipped in direction of the tornado and its toxic green light intensified into blindingly bright white. Instead of staying to watch what was happening Satan bent his knees and picked you up easily, deepening your confusion. He walked away into the opposite direction but from your position you could see that the lightning grew thinner and thinner until only a sigil against the clouds stayed behind.

„Satan“, you managed to say in the growing silence and swallowed hard when you met his unmoved gaze. Did you imagine it or did his aura flare up everytime he looked at you? „What are you doing?“

„Taking what is rightfully mine.“ His fingers closed tighter around your shoulders and knees.

You were so confused. Rightfully his? What was he talking about? No wait, that wasn't the point now. Simeon had asked you to stop Satan in whatever it was he was doing.

„Satan“, you tried again, „is this going to be dangerous?“ It was better to stop him right now. You didn't need to understand him. You weren't sure that there was a way to understand how the way he treated you was supposed to go hand in hand with his wrath aspect.

„Of course not, honey.“ There, he did it again!! Did that mean that Satan actually remembered you? But your Satan wouldn't call you "honey", would he? "The ritual itself isn't dangerous for you. You have my word." He put you down on your feet in some distance to the first floating sigil in the clouds and you echoed: "Ritual?"

"This is something I need to do." Satan's facial expression changed and even the edgy smile on his face melted away into dark determination. The carefully suppressed demonic aura underneath started fuming blackly and encoated you, exposed you momentarily to the raging fire inside of Satan's soul and brought to your knees like a fist to your stomach. Thus you didn't feel the pain when Satan pulled your ragged shirt that you had used as bandage from your arm with one swift motion, and only sat on the ground with wide eyes.

You hadn't known that Satan felt like this. You hadn't known how much wrath and pain somebody could harbor.

„This is the second sacrifice!“, Satan shouted and lifted his free hand to the skies. That second a gigantic green lightning struck down right against the shining ring on his ring finger, followed by a shockwave that this time made you scream and knocked you onto your back. Satan on the other hand, completely fine despite this force, threw your shirt into the building up tornado that immediately turned into a second sigil among the clouds, similar to a shining star but way scarier.

„Satan?!“ You got up, closed the distance between you and him and grabbed him by his elbow. With new found strength that came from desperation you dragged him to your level. „ _What are you doing?_ “

„What's the matter?“ He shook off your grip, as calm as always. It kind of hurt how weak you were in comparison to him. „What's wrong? It's simple magic. Believe me, this is what you want too. Every demon will fear our might and accept us as their rightful rulers. They will stop treating us like second class.“

„But – why?“ You remembered that Barbatos had mentioned this would happen. He _had_ mentioned that the demon brothers would go onto a rampage sooner or later. Time was running out. You knew that you had to stop him. You knew that you mustn't complete a demonic ritual that was completely obscure to you. But when Satan put a hand around your shoulders and gently pushed you to walk with him, and when he kept explaining his reasons sweetly, this made your determination waver.

„You are important to me, the most important person in this world and beyond. I will not stand my brothers' slander against you any longer. Royalty should be treated as such. I want to see you on a throne, respected and feared by inferior creatures.“

„Royalty??“ Despite the changes and arguably angry undertones Satan also sounded completely sincere. He _meant_ what he was saying. He _wanted_ to fulfill what he was promising. Satan had always been like that. When had he ever lied?

So … did he mean to say that he was doing this ritual for you? Okay wait, that was a bit much. How did wrath tie into the whole story with you?

"But why me?"

Satan stopped and let go of you after he reached his destination in order to repeat his gestures from the other two times that summoned familiar green light from the sky above. This time it didn't seem as threatening as it had before and there was no shockwave whose force took you with it. You had your eyes on Satan, processing what he was trying to say. Was this how Satan really was?

"I found your suitcase in my room when I woke up. Inside were some fotos and I saw and understood the truth. I waited for your return but you took so long." He closed the distance between you two and took your hand to press it against his chest. You could feel his heart beat strongly and rhythmically against the warmth of your hand.

"I'm here now." What if Barbatos was wrong? Green was simply Satan's color. It didn't have to have anything to do with something dramatic as world destruction.

"I know."

He lifted your chin with his free hand and put his parted lips hard against yours. The hand that had held yours enclosed against his chest wrapped around your waist and moved you closer to bridge the gap between your bodies. No question that this was a hungry kiss that held all of your senses captive and left you breathless when Satan allowed you to retract again. „This is the third sacrifice“, he whispered and the gleaming light behind him exploded into a third sigil. You noticed how it alligned into a perfect circle with the other two sigils, with exception of one last gap, leaving the House of Lamentation in its middle. The House of Lamentation ... it had visible damage to its outside.

"What about your brothers?!" You remembered with a start. How did it not bug you earlier, had Satan's sweet words lured you in this effectively? Satan hadn't mentioned his brothers at all but he probably didn't know that they were captured inside the House of Lamentation. They had to make sure they were safe before finishing the ritual.

"Why?" Satan tilted his head questioningly.

"Your brothers are still inside. We should-"

"No, let me rephrase that. Why would I care for them?"

"Why would-?" You interrupted yourself. You stared at Satan. Slowly, his words began sinking in and with it came the realization that it was naive to think that you were talking to Satan and not the Avatar of Wrath. He could treat you as royally as he wanted but in the end none of that was real. "You don't care? But ... No, that's wrong. I don't want that. You can't do that Satan. They're your brothers." You put both hands against his chest and pushed yourself back to catch his gaze. Suddenly, Satan's anger was burning fire against your skin, completely unexpectedly.

"So you would turn down a place by my side for my insignificant brothers? So be it, traitor. I don't need you for much anymore."

"What?! No!" You didn't see Satan's hand move when it already closed painfully around your chin and forced tears into your eyes. You tried moving but something hard and rough wrapped around your body and keeping you in place, scratching over your skin and leaving marks – and Satan lifted you from the ground with his tail without taking his hand off your face.

"Don't make the wrong move", Satan warned you with hostile tone. The toxic green tip of his tail was like the end of a scorpion's tale and probably as deadly. Just now it was too close to your throat, aiming at your throat. How in the world did your situation always turn 180 degrees so fast?? The brothers had definitely been right when they said that you attracted unfortunate events with just your existence! You couldn't even tell Satan off in fear of angering him even more without effect ...

Walking - or rather, being carried without being able to move - was something you'd never want to repeat ever again. What were you supposed to do while Satan walked to the forth spot to complete the magic circle? And then the feeling of angst kicked in. You wanted to scream for help, Simeon would surely come! Or maybe Diavolo and Barbatos were finally here to help. You couldn't go on by yourself anymore. You had messed up one time too often.

But you weren't even able to scream because of this gnawing feeling of dread in your stomach and back of your throat. You cried silently when Satan summoned the fourth lightning and shouted „this is the fourth sacrifice!“ You cried when he wiped one of your tears from the corner of your eye and threw it in direction of the thunderstorm, turning the lightning into a sigil, completing the circle in heaven.

"I thought I was important to you." You waited until Satan turned back to you and flinched because of the look that he gave you. He wouldn't even look like this at _Lucifer._

"A mere naive human? Don't get your hopes up. I only need you until the ritual is complete." He lifted his hand and you recognized the ring on his finger: Solomon's ring. A human magician's ring. So _that_ was it. Satan had been cunningly using you for his damn ritual. And you had fallen for his sweet words.

No, not Satan. The Avatar of Wrath. This realization made you ... angry.

"What if I refuse?" The pendant weighed heavily against your chest.

"You're in no position to. But don't worry, _honey._ We're almost done."

_Oh yes, we truly are.  
_

* * *

  
You walked with Satan through the garden and back into the House of Lamentation because what else could be the last destination? You were boiling in silent rage with every step, ignoring both the Avatar of Wrath and the tail that was loosely wound around you.

_Think._

When you entered Satan's room he let go of you and walked to his room's windows. He took a swing that merciless shattered them into million pieces, sending shards flying. You flinched back, caught your foot on something and felt heavily against a pile of books, causing several more of them fall over with you.

"Ouch!"

"This will be the fifth sacrifice", Satan said. You saw that what you fell over was your suitcase. It was wide open with all its contents scattered all around it and when you saw a familiar book peek out from under your spare clothes you finally got an idea. Daring. Might not work. But the only way you could think of.

You pushed yourself off the piles and reached out for the thick book, managed to grab hold of it and saw from the corners of your eyes that Satan was approaching. You took all your strength and threw the book in your hands against him and all that was needed was that he touched it –

When you opened your eyes, the surge of feelings inside of you was _terrible_. More than terrible, actually. They were downright violent.

How _dare_ they. Everyone, every single soul in this cruel stinking world, nobody had ever respected you or treated you the way you _deserved_. You were born from the person you hated the most and then excluded from the group of former angels. What about you? What about your true self? You were simply a byproduct, a _mistake_ that nobody wanted or loved. Oh fucking hell, everyone should fear your wrath when you'd finally be able to face them honestly! Torture for every fake second of your life for every single soul -

„Get a hold of yourself!“

Pain. The words shouted from somebody else in your room induced pain that burned differently from the screaming anger in your soul. It made your breath go crazy and your heart beat faster while you felt an intense _need_ to fulfill this person's order. A pact! This person had somehow managed a pact with a high being like you! How DARE they.

_I'll kill this human._

You moved on your own with inhuman reaction but this human jumped up and screamed: "DON'T TOUCH ME!" The force of this order brought you down again and then the human had the audacity to sit down on you, one hand against your throat and the other of all things around your tail, holding it roughly as if they were about to bend and break it. This was the third strange feeling that rioted through you, a strange sense of pleasure like the one you could get when you knew that you were dancing with death. Oh this human must know that his tail was also one of his weak points. Where could they know that from?

„Fuck you“, you groaned and wanted to push this human off your midriff but the hand around your throat pushed your head back and intensified the strange sense of satisfaction next to anger. It brought your breathing completely out of control and made thoughts impossible until you almost begged for this feeling to take over. Why did a mere human have so much power over you?

„You can't control me, human“, the human said angrily. „Wait until the book's spell wears off and I swear, once I have my body back I'll make you pay!“

„ _You_ will make _me_ pay?“ But the laughter got stuck in your throat. Wait. _My body?_ „Satan?!“ IT HAD WORKED!

„Shut up!“

„Nobody tells –!“ Fury from having to follow the pact gave you the power to send the human flying but at the same time your strength immediately left you when the movement rubbed your tail the wrong way. You sank to the ground with a throaty groan and hit your tail free from the human's grab, wound it quickly around your leg and got to your feet with a pained smile. The noise coming from your throat had definitely been demonic. „Oh... so that's how it is.“

"Fuck you", Satan in your human body swore and tore off a piece of his oversized shirt to wrap it around the bare flesh of his palms. That would hurt once the body swap was over ... "You won't stop me." He got up as well, face twisted in an anger that you were feeling too. Not because it was your own.

_Focus. Be yourself._

"Come here. Let me kiss the pendant." Would it work if it wasn't Satan's soul in Satan's body? You extended a hand but the human laughed scornfully.

"As if I let you. _You_ have to kiss the pendant when the body switch is over." He said it! You could feel the pact's force settle in your bones, the force like heat underneath your skin.

_Would this work? Would this count as direct order? Would the pendant react?_

„Kiss it!“ You clenched your hands to fists and the book's spell really wore off in that second and threw you back into your familiar body. The force of it – and the lack of boiling rage in you – made you gasp. Would it work??

_Oh fuck._

The next moment Satan was in front of you again but seemingly he wasn't master over his own body. His eyes widened when he, instead of doing what he wanted to do, he seemingly had to reach inside of your shirt. He pulled out the pendant, lifting it to his own lips, struggling against his own body. He stopped himself violently and the hate in his eyes would definitely hunt you in your dreams if you survived today. But when his lips touched the pendant, he still disappeared in a flash of light as a matter of fact – and left you completely relieved. How this had worked? Maybe sheer luck; but at least it had!! Not to imagine what Satan would've done to you if this hadn't worked ...

Unfortunately, the burning sigils in the sky were still active and so was the lightning bolt right in front of the room's window. Just – Solomon's ring was no longer in its proximity and so the released magic started lashing out in search for an energy source.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some additional explanations:  
> a) I headcanon that wrath includes a mixture of pride, envy and hatred. Must be tough to be the only brother who wasn't born as angel :thinking:  
> b) Satanic ritual. *a moment of silence for that pun please*  
> c) Those sacrifices that Satan's offering are bodily fluids - blood, sweat, tears, saliva and .... :') [if I think about it, Satan being close friends with Asmo, Avatar of Lust, is making more and more sense; well, I stan]  
> d) Ever since Beel's chapter I'm writing chapters from scratch (because the initial versions don't fit at all anymore); if you ever followed my update schedule for anything you'll know that I'm. not a frequent updater. Sorry for keeping cliffhangers over several months. I swear that I'm trying xD


	7. Lust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for 300+ kudos :)
> 
> !! this is the chapter why I gave HSH an M-rating; I uh, put in kinks but I dislike going explicit :')
> 
> I will have to do light editing to chapter beginnings and bring the tags into some sort of order after I'm through I guess. Also can't believe that I have reached the initially written 21k with chapter 6 already ,,

_Lust isn't always simply sexual, love. Everyone craves for something - always._

The toxic green lightning lashed out through the window into Satan's room and filled it entirely with the prickly feeling of electricity, so intensely that you could taste it on the tip of your tongue. You stumbled onto your feet and fell against another pile of books that fell over with you, crawled your way to the door to escape the imminent threat and managed to get out before the tension in the room litterally exploded. The pressure that escaped into the hallway as the door wasn't fully closed got you flat against the floor, not as terribly as a demon's aura might have though, so it only lasted for a second before you were able to look behind you.

Through the half open door you could see that some books had caught fire due to the lightning's impact and were burning with the same green light as the sigils in heaven, slowly devouring the crisp paper with creeping satisfaction.

_Oh no!_

No doubt, Satan would be raging once everything was back to normal. His room's window was shattered (honestly, his own fault) and now his precious books were on fire ...

Instinctively, you rushed back into the room and looked around, noticed the black bedcover and grabbed it. The idea was to throw the heavy fabric onto the burning pile to cut off oxygen and stop the fire from spreading. Doing so had the opposite effect though, and with new panic you picked up the heavily smoking bundle of wrapped up books and without further ado threw it out of the window. Careful not to cut yourself on the shards you leaned out to see if you were successful and well, there was definitely no saving for the already burning books and somehow Satan's bedcover had caught fire too now ... but at least the vegetation around the little fires was too wet to burn as well.

You exhaled and looked up into the sky, where the sigils were still burning just as brightly but where at least the unfinished one had stopped lashing out. Not that the problem was over. This felt like a stalemate or maybe calm before the storm, especially since the electricity you had felt before was still very much up in the air.

And then it started snowing.

The thick dark clouds inbetween the sigils broke apart in white heavy snow that sank heavily to the ground, filling the air with silence and sudden bursts of cold, and once the first snow reached the ground it finally extinguished the fires. Like every snowfall it was a beautiful sight to behold. Beautiful, but also bizarre. Why was it snowing?

You extended a hand through the broken window, reached out for one of the snow crystals to catch them on your bare hand, but before any cold gem could touch your skin a hand grabbed your wrist and pulled you back roughly.

“Are you tired of living!”, another voice that you recognized scolded you. There was no mistake, you were face to face with Solomon, who held an iron grip around your wrist and looked anguished, more anguished than even you. His facial expression, the darkness and the haunted notion in his eyes took you more aback than his harsh words, and you asked: "Solomon, what happened?"

"What happened? Those are acids that will eat you alive! Why would you want to touch that??" Solomon gesticulated wildly at outside the window and then facepalmed with another heavy sigh. If you thought about it, Solomon surely had to be most familiar with the sigils in heaven, so the sorcerer had probably every reason to look as he did now. Also this whole ordeal had been connected to Solomon's ring in Satan's possession in the first place. "Let's get out of here asap. We're not safe. This whole place is a hell house, I'm so fucking done with it.”

"Huh? What do you mean?", you asked, but Solomon kept on swearing under his breath and dragged you along by your wrist, out of Satan's room and down the hallway without an answer.

To some extent, you could relate to Solomon. To who if not him? But then again, contrary to you he was a human sorcerer, knew how to protect himself and he hadn't had the same experiences with the demon brothers as you had. So ... even if you wanted to leave the House of Lamentation like Solomon was planning to, there were still things to do here. Even putting aside that you had been successful until now and that Diavolo and Barbatos would eat you alive if you simply left - Simeon was still keeping an eye on Lucifer and Asmodeus and in the meantime the brothers could wreak havoc and possibly destroy the Devildom. Ah yes, and then there was the half-finished ritual that was filling the air with acidic snow and um, somewhere in the House of Lamentation the other brothers were restrained in some way ...

You stopped hard in the tracks, having made up your mind. Solomon took another step and unexpectedly found himself pulled back. He turned to you, disbelief filling his face when he saw the way you looked at him. You didn't have to say anything, Solomon understood it without words already. He pulled his eyebrows together, sighed almost angrily and let go off you to walk from side to side with his arms behind his back. He seemed to be talking to himself, his silent rage boiling, then concluded: "FINE. What's your plan?"

"You're a sorcerer. Shouldn't you ... freak out less at this?" You made a vague gesture around you.

"Some of the humans present still have _normal_ human instinct and I'll tell you, that's NOT you. For some reason you certainly have a knack for getting into trouble. Seeking it instead of running away. So, bigmouth, give me a reason to throw it all away. It better be a good fucking reason." He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"This." You fiddled into your shirt and pulled out the pendant from underneath the fabric, where you had once again put it for safekeeping. "I can restrain the demon brothers and stop them. You know, I'm immune to Asmo's charm spell and I have a pact with him ...? I just need you to stop that ritual. Outside. You don't have to do anything else. Please."

" _Just_ ", Solomon repeated sarcastically. "You have no idea how the ritual actually works, do you? I'd need to complete it so that I can disrupt it because I don't have my ring. Or my notes. _Anything._ And are you even aware of what I had to live through when Satan and Asmodeus took my ring from me?" By the deep red color of his cheeks and the flat hand he pressed against the lower half of his face you could start imagining what he was talking about. "Geez, I only managed to get away because of my pact with Asmodeus in the first place. Can you promise that you'll get my ring back by yourself one hundred percent without that I get caught in the crossfire? I don't think so. So let's go, give up."

"It worked with the other five", you explained. "They need to kiss this voluntarily and that shouldn't be a problem with Asmo" - you said that to calm down Solomon - "and it's something I need to do. You don't have to be there. Listen, Solomon, isn't there a way to slow down the ritual until I get back your ring from Satan? I'm sure that Diavolo and Barbatos will be here any moment -" You noticed that Solomon's eyes shifted from you to something behind you and when you turned your head you couldn't hold back a gasp, voicing the shock on Solomon's face.

“Found you! Why did you leave before we could finish? ~ ♡” Making eye contact with Asmodeus made it impossible to look away from him. In contrast to his brothers ... Asmo was _glowing_. His aura wasn't deadly oppressive or suffocating or projecting feelings at all, the opposite was the case. So when Asmo ran his pointing finger over his closed lips and smiled at you two mischievously and tilted his hip you could feel anticipation get hold of you. Goosebumps ran over your skin and your knees threatened to give in under you, for entirely different reasons than in cases before.

"Oh." You quickly slapped a hand against your mouth to drown out the sound that had come out too similarly to a moan and forced your gaze away from Asmo's dazzling beauty to – _Simeon?!_

Tall and beautiful Simeon stood next to Asmo but something was off about his smile, something _felt_ off about him. And when arms wrapped around your midriff from behind and Solomon put his chin onto your shoulder, pressing you against him with a happy hum you realized that it, in fact, wasn't Asmo's aura per se. It would be more accurate to call it Asmo's charm, permeating the air and influencing everyone around. Even Simeon.

“Solomon! Let go!” You wound in his arms and managed to catch his eyes that were so definitely not Solomon-like that it made you freeze up in the hug. When you had heard about people in fiction getting heart-eyes when they were in ecstasy or when looking at somebody they loved you had always taken it as exaggeration – who really had heart eyes?? But you guessed you learned something new every day haha ... and who would've thought that another human might cause you slightly more problems than a demon would?

"Eyes on me, baby ~" Demons had their appeal too though. Asmodeus was right in front of you and slid his fingers along your jawline down to your chin to turn your head to him, his lips closely hovering near your nose, ready to kiss you. You hadn't heard him approaching, had been too caught up with Solomon's arms around you, but by now you could bodily feel the effects of Asmo's aura no matter how immune you were to his spell. Automatically, with your next breath your lips parted and you had only eyes for this beautiful man, you wanted to press up against Asmo to melt away in his arms. He seemed to hesitate and you moved against Solomon's grip to get to Asmo, to beg for his kiss -

and the Avatar of Lust pressed the tips of his fingers against your lips and giggled, leaned past your head and pressed a kiss onto Solomon's lips instead, leaning against your shoulder. Solomon's fingers twitched, dug harder into your shirt and made him pull closer to you, closing the barely existing space between your bodies. He gasped and chased Asmo's lips when they parted for a short breath, and enraged about the neglection you bit at the fingers on your mouth.

"Ouch!" The playful protest was enough to draw Asmo's attention back to you, but with new eye contact the fog in your brain returned and you only felt the need of all of him - Asmo was right there, barely, teasingly out of range. "How naughty of you to bite me! Don't worry though, love, if you're into that then we can still work something out hihi!" Asmo's eyes narrowed with a wide smile around his mouth and he broke away from Solomon and you, chanting: "Simeon! Let us go to the bathroom, alrighty?"

_Huh?_

Without eye contact with these intensely amber eyes you immediately realized that you had been under the effect of Asmo's spell and it took a second longer to understand that this time your window of opportunity was rather small as well. First, you needed to come up with a plan. The ritual ... you needed Solomon to stop the ritual and the acid snow outside but for that you needed Solomon's ring and Solomon's clear mind. Would restraining Asmo through the pendant break Asmo's spell on Solomon?

You threw a glance at the sorcerer and bit your lower lip, chasing away the remnants of lewd thoughts that were threatening to overtake your mind. Nobody needed the thoughts about how Simeon's top looked like at the parts covered by his trousers - especially when the angel was too eager to walk over and pick you up in order to follow Asmo with Solomon as company.

"Simeon", you hissed and reached into his hair, poking his cheek and trying to get his attention without that Asmo would notice how you wasted your efforts behind his back. Of course, Asmo's spell was too strong on the angel, but up this close you were able to see dark lipstick marks under Simeon's jaw and on his throat, messy smudges on an otherwise immaculate appearance. So much for looking out after Asmo, huh?

Unfortunately, the way to said bathroom was even shorter than you had thought. And just like this, thinking time was nearly over.

“We are here ♡” Asmo pushed open the door to his bathroom and all lights turned on magically, revealing a gigantic round tub in the middle of a wide room. The bathtub was embedded in the ground with broad stone rims that must be the width of your arm in the middle of the room, veiled with soft curtains from above, giving the room a somewhat antique and exotic vibe.

"Get in, would you?", Asmo sang.

"Hey!" Without any hesitation Simeon had carried you into the middle and dropped you - fully clothed - into the water where you landed with a splash. For a moment you were underwater, struggling to get to the surface and get a clear sight and when you did you were rewarded with a sight you had not expected.

If you had ever wondered about certain things concerning Asmo's demon outfit then now many of your questions were answered. Stark naked - how had he been able to undress this fast? - he got into the tub and sank into the water next to you, giggling under your attentive gaze. Yes, those were indeed tattoos on his arms, as you were able to confirm when you rubbed your fingers against the skin - the art didn't wash away in the water. And yes, his wings felt like the wings of a bat and made Asmo give off soft teasing sounds under your touch into your ear that awakened a beast in your chest that you hadn't known had been sleeping there.

Asmo slid his hands underneath your shirt and up your chest, traced the curve of your ribcage lovingly and let one hand go around you into the small of your back, shifting your weight while the other hand got hold of something else. "What is that?" He closed a hand around the wooden pendant and rubbed lewdly over its surface with his thumb, licking over his lips. "What a nice accessory ♡”

"Take it." You pulled necklace and shirt over your head, threw your shirt away, opened the necklace's fastener, wrapped your arms around Asmo's neck and fastened the necklace around him, indulging in the feeling of naked skin against skin. From up this close Asmo smelled divinely and you felt your breathing change once more. You put your head back, met those attractive amber eyes from another angel, breathed against him and forgot to inhale when you saw his lustful grin, your plea dying in the back of your throat.

"I will take good care of you ~", Asmo promised in low tone and pushed you through the water until you were up against the bathtub's edge, hardness pressing against your thighs. His tight grip made it impossible to move the way you wanted and it started getting frustrating how teasing he behaved. _Let us just have it._

"Let me first remove this ugliness", he whispered as if he knew your thoughts, lifted your arm - you were surprised to see bite marks whose blood mixed with water - and pressed a kiss onto your wrist, eyes burning. When did those injuries get there? You couldn't remember. "I don't want my lovers marked by others. Solomon, if you could ♡"

Asmo reached out demandingly to the two standing outside the bathtub in respectable distance. Solomon reacted immediately, disappeared for a moment and when he came back he had a phial with clear liquid in his hands. One might expect that he'd simply give it as ordered but instead, Solomon jumped into the water too and uncorked the phial there.

"Oh ~? What boldness!" You could feel a wave of excitement run through Asmo's body from head to toe. Whatever went through his head because of Solomon's action was definitely dirty. You blinked and grasped for the escaping clearness in your mind, a clearness that was out of reach like a word you were just about to remember but couldn't grasp it -! But jealousy, writhing burning jealousy of not having Asmo's attention on you overpowered the rational thought, overpowered the realization that the pendant was around Asmo's throat and that you needed to say you'd find it sexy if he could -

During your internal fight your hands had automatically wandered into Asmo's hair but unfortunately, there was nothing Asmo hated more than somebody tampering with his beauty, so before you knew what happened you were captivated and burned by dark eyes again, their look uncharacteristically angry. For a moment he loosened his grip around you and with a hand around your injured arm happened to send soaring pain through it. Due to the spell, this time the pain made you cry out in pleasure.

"Oh, we won't be doing that now, will we, sweetheart ~?", Asmo asked, and _tsk_ -ed, getting hold of your injured arm once again. He took the phial Solomon was holding, prompted him “Watch and learn ♡”, and put the clear liquid onto the palm of his hand, returning to his usual self as if it was a matter of changing clothes. All slinky he leaned against you, the best aphrodisiac you could imagine and when he touched your arm you felt another wave of pleasure. You inhaled sharply through your closed teeth and threw your head back while Asmo rubbed the liquid over your wounds and made the pain go away. Underneath his touch the bite marks closed miraculously as if they had never existed in the first place.

Slowly, thoroughly Asmo worked his way up your arm and tilted your upper body with his movement, making you bend over the bathtub's edge against your back just unnervingly enough to tempt you into begging for his touch; at the same time you were completely under his control as Asmo moved your hands whenever you reached for a spot he didn't want you to touch yet.

"Take the phial, Solomon, will you?" With now both hands free Asmo put one hard against the bathtub's edge next to your head, caging you. "Let's get naughty, shall we?", he asked, a new undertone to his voice.

"Asmo", you whispered with pleasure, and reached for the thing that was scratching painfully against your chest, only to vaguely remember that Asmo was wearing a necklace. Couldn't he get rid of that?

"Tell me that you want me. Don't be shy, I know you do. Simply everyone wants a piece of me, haha ~♡”

You put your head back until the back of your head rested on the stone rim. Asmo's weight on you was still so very innocent if not for his ultimate proximity and the hardness pressing against the fabric you still wore; if you could only get rid of these trousers already!

"I want you, Asmo", you followed his plea and ignored the nagging criticism in the back of your mind that started getting louder the longer you had your eyes closed. What was that about a pendant again? And who cared?

"I want you, Asmodeus", Solomon chimed in and Asmo laughed. You could feel him shift on you, knew that he was talking to Simeon when he asked, almost singing: "What about you?"

"I want you, Asmo", Simeon's clear voice said from somewhere behind you. You repeated with a voice full of pleasure: "I want you, Asmo!"

“Oh ~?”

This time, the shift in weight was serious, nothing half-assed or playful like before. Asmo wrapped his legs tightly around you underwater and grabbed the bathtub's edges with both hands left and right from your head so that he could lift himself up and meet your eyes that you had opened in surprise. Little droplets of water ran over his upper body down the lines of his soft muscles into deeper regions and out of sight, and the pendant around his throat dangled to and fro in front of your face. You took in the sight gratefully, traced the tracks of the water as if your eyes were thirsty and extended a hand, ran your fingers over his chest and with deep satisfaction noticed how Asmo twitched underneath your touch, traced deeper until Asmo reached out and got you by your chin so that you couldn't follow your hand's way with your eyes anymore. Instead, he sank down, pressed a hard kiss against your lips, opening your mouth –

“What about me? Are you not going to ask if _I_ want you?”

Asmo froze. He broke away from you, lifted his head, narrowed his eyes when he heard the unknown voice. Despite the good lightning in this bathroom he couldn't make out the source of it immediately. He looked around, alarmed. “Who's there?!”, he had a shrill undertone.

You however had recognized the voice. And immediately Asmo's spell dissipated and made it possible for you to follow the situation at hand more objectively again.

“Why, hello there. I see you've been holding up splendidly during my and my Lord's absence.”

None other than Barbatos in demon form stepped into view and nothing gave away if his remark was meant seriously or sarcastically. Angels, demons and humans alike had said that in the Devildom Barbatos was one of the scariest demons out here because even when he was angry his smile would remain unchanged, not to mention that he had an extremely mighty power.

When Asmo saw him standing in the bathroom not far away from the bathtub all color drained from his face, making him appear younger again, and he pushed himself away from you, following an instinct that must've woken inside him. He laughed nervously, beat away Solomon's hand when he reached for him, and moved through the water in order to get out on the other side of the bathtub but there simply was no escape possible.

With clearing mind you saw colors rush past you in a blur and then Barbatos standing in front of Asmo already, still smiling friendly but in definite strike range.

“There is nowhere you have to hurry to, have you, Asmodeus?”, he asked, seemingly unfazed by the fact that one, he was standing fully clothed in water, and two, that he was holding a naked Asmo by his waist in order to keep him in place (in appropriate distance, of course; not that distance mattered when you faced someone like Barbatos).

“I-if you don't m-mind ...”, Asmo began and shook his head with wide eyes. He flinched when Barbatos grabbed the pendant around Asmo's neck and snapped the necklace'a chain in half so that he held the pendant itself in his gloved hand on eye-level. “I w-would very much not like this”, he explained and put both hands against Barbatos' chest, eyeing the pendant with increasing fear on his face.

The butler only nodded.

“I would have preferred a different outcome either but it cannot be helped. Excuse my impudence”, he apologized courteously, put the pendant in Asmo's hand and wrapped his fingers around it, before lifting both their hands and pressing them against Asmo's lips. For a moment you believed that you saw Asmo smile when a flash illuminated the room and teleported Asmo away but that had surely been your imagination.

"Oh my goodness." You put both your hands against your face in disbelief. "Fuck, so much about being immune to Asmo's charm?? I didn't even - Solomon??" You noticed his highly red face and reached out to him. "Are you okay?" You touched him lightly by the shoulder but he jumped as if you had slapped him. If possible, his face turned even redder and he turned his back to you completely, hands clenched into fists.

"I'm sorry!", he exclaimed awkwardly.

“??” You still had your arm lifted when you felt a light tap against your shoulder from behind you and when you turned your head upwards Simeon smiled hard enough to make his eyes narrow to slits.

“If you could sit on the tub's edge please”, he asked and smoothly wrapped his cape-like cloak around your shoulders when you followed his request. That was the moment when you realized with reddening cheeks what state you were in and how you must look like - and so you wrapped the cloak tighter around yourself with a nervous laugh.

"Ahem, it seems that everything's fine now! You're back from the spell haha! I fell for it too ... Barbatoss came at the right moment!" With Simeon's help you climbed out of the water and managed your trousers and the cloak as dignified as possible. Solomon followed your example without looking at you, dripping with water but he probably knew some spells that would dry him immediately. All this time, he instead kept frowning at Barbatos, who stood in the middle of the bathtub, his head slightly lowered.

"Barbatos, we must take care of the sigils outside. Oh and there's still Lucifer, did Diavolo go to deal with him?", you kept on talking to cover up your embarrassment. "Gosh, you should've told me about how the pendant _actually_ works, if I had known that it works like what you did with Asmo just now? Seriously, I ... ... Barbatos?" You noticed Barbatos' missing reaction and fell silent. Looking for an answer you turned to Simeon, who hovered an arm around you protectively with serious expression, keeping his eyes on unmoving Barbatos. Solomon's face spelled serious business too. You exchanged looks with him and mouthed your confusion but Solomon lifted a finger to his lips and shook his head.

With a small spell that was hardly more than moving a finger counter-clockwise he made something visible to you that you weren't able to see with standard human vision - and when you saw what the other two could see you had to beat a hand against your mouth to not gasp out loud.

Barbatos naturally had a demon aura around himself. The aura was barely visible because of his even emotional state but it was threatening mist that despite his friendly face made everybody subconsciously cower in fear. Right now though, said aura was permeated with foreign magic. Pink, alluring magic, to be precise. A parting gift, maybe. Unbelievable, how Asmo managed to do it -

but Barbatos was under the effect of Asmo's charm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genshin Impact NPC said "Bar - bae - dos" and ever since that I haven't been the same anymore - I always pronounced this name as "Barba - toss"?!
> 
> Also trivia but the bathroom I'm talking about is the Bathroom of Desire ,,, I think Asmo uses at least two? But then again, canon chats exist where Asmo complains that some bathroom is broken and he'll have to share with everyone and everyone is already scared cause Asmo takes so long -- :shrugs:
> 
> It's also my belief that we should have more Asmeon fics and I will create the content that I crave myself if I need to D:


	8. Pride (and Prejudice)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Solmare dropped "Diavolo can freeze time btw" so casually - but when do I get an entire list of what he can do? (Also in the current bunny event they also be like "Ah yes Diavolo changed his and Barbatos' appearance btw" - MAN. What else can he do??)

_(Pride and prejudice rule a lot.)_

_When time was stopped_

The only reason why you weren't torn to shreds by Barbatos immediately after Asmodeus disappeared had been Diavolo's quick reaction to the situation – that's what he explained at least when he entered the bathroom. He had stopped time, frozen everyone and everything to discuss matters in peace as long as possible. However, even though Diavolo's words were meant to reassure, his relaxed attitude from the hot springs events was gone and the usual smile around his lips had died away. And despite every reassurance, he had to talk about the situation's gravity with Simeon, Solomon and you without trying to cover anything up.

“I can't ensure your safety at the moment. The entire Devildom is in grave danger right now. We have to act quickly and without remorse.” Diavolo kept his eyes on frozen Barbatos, avoiding eye contact with everyone else. Even though his arms were crossed in front of his chest you could see that his knuckles were white from how strongly he had his hands clenched to fists. Maybe right now wasn't the right moment to clarify that your life had been in danger from the very beginning of this episode (if not of this entire exchange trip) and that another demon on rampage couldn't be _that_ bad. Might not have the effect you wished it to have. Should you say that everything would be fine now that Diavolo was here to help out?

“What's the plan?”, you asked, putting as much positivity into your voice as possible. You've come this far, surely everything would turn out for the better with Diavolo's help!

However, what Diavolo answered made you regret your decision because you absolutely didn't like his … “plan”. Not one bit.  
  


* * *

  
To do this was crazy. Absolute madness. But it was the only way to go no matter how you thought about it.

When Lucifer's brothers had been hard to deal with, what could you say about Lucifer himself? You had fallen for every sin that you had been confronted with, overpowered and struggling - even though you had a concrete plan at the beginning and a magical pendant that would restrain the brothers! Not to be cynical (or be exactly that, actually), but _without_ a plan AND a pendant, this couldn't but turn out well!!

_"You only need to convince him to come to me" my ass, Diavolo - "Lucifer's magic isn't letting me near his office" fuck off - why me, why always me, send Simeon??_

You put a hand against Lucifer's door and bent over with a hand over your mouth, breathing with shaking shoulders and wide eyes. Even from this side of such a thick wooden door you could already feel Lucifer's aura take effect on you: the aura of the strongest demon among the brothers, a power that you as human were never directly exposed to before. How could you possibly face Lucifer? Without a pact to control him and help yourself out, without the back-up of Barbatos, Diavolo or the pendant because Barbatos was still holding onto it, _how could you possibly face him?_

Maybe you shouldn't have put this much trust and belief into demons. In the end you were standing here alone, on your own again, without anyone else to help you. Hasn't it always been like this? No matter how scary and how many eons of experience demons and angels had, they were utterly useless. The human had to do everything! Oh how much sense did it make that humans were masters over demons and forced them into pacts to make them have some sort of use ...

_Being angry doesn't change a damn thing. I'm scared. Terrified. But so what?_

You pushed down the door's handle and let the door swing open with a slight creak, revealing Lucifer's study to your blurry gaze and facing his aura head-on.

Whatever you expected he'd be doing, you obviously hadn't expected that Lucifer would be calmly sitting at his desk and … working. He was hunched over a stack of papers, his head against one hand, and didn't look up to meet your eyes as if he didn't hear you open the door. The only thing different from the usual sight was the room's atmosphere because while the other brothers had had their magic aura confined to themselves, Lucifer's took over all of the space. Like dark smoke the oppressiveness was everywhere and seemed to wait for the opportunity to attack.

“I was wondering how much longer you planned on standing in front of my door.”

His voice was smooth like silk, loud enough to barely be heard but clear, and sent a shiver through your body. This - standing here, the first confrontation - already felt like a cat and mouse game where you, the mouse, were staring at the cat's fangs in silent admiration, both longing for attention and being scared to death. Your mind was running in loops.

“Come in.” Lucifer put down the paper in his hand and leaned back in his chair with a sigh, brushing his hand through his hair. He met your eyes. "Don't be shy. You weren't shy with my brothers, were you?" A smile, sharp, deadly but beautiful, that was all it took to make you do that requested step into the room even though it felt like stepping into a trap. The door behind you fell shut on its own and made you jump, hardening the feeling of danger you had. Lucifer laughed.

“I – You know?”, you asked, focusing on Lucifer's remark about his brothers. How much did he know? Why did he look so amused and why was he this relaxed? Shouldn't he want to destroy the Devildom by now or act violently upon his sin, plot revenge or … do something? You didn't believe for a second that Lucifer was different from his brothers – if something, he was even more deadly, cunning and dangerous. There was no way Lucifer would just sit here and do paperwork.

“I know this and that, the usual. Come closer.” He wasn't friendly. Actually, the way he invited you (or maybe, _ordered_ you) made you realize how much Satan and Lucifer actually had in common in terms of fake friendliness that covered pure sadism. It made sense - Satan was birthed from Lucifer. But did you have much of a choice other than obeying?

You took another step forward, walked among the clouds of Lucifer's aura and stopped in front of the desk, the solid piece of wood between Lucifer and you. He hadn't averted his attentive eyes from you for a second, continuously smiling without a change, and when you stopped he reached out and turned the paper on the desk 180 degrees so that you could see what was written on it.

“Exchange program with the Human and Heavenly Realm” the headline in Lucifer's sophisticated handwriting read, followed up by scandalously private details about the angels, Solomon and you underneath it. Oh heavens, they knew even _that_?!

You picked up the paper from the desk and read quicker over the information compiled about you, blushing and even gasping – _Seriously?!_

“I take it you know what this is”, Lucifer drew your attention back to him. You looked up and inhaled, formulating an answer out of habit without thinking much, when you noticed the subtle change in Lucifer's face and immediately remembered that you, in fact, were talking to the Avatar of Pride and the illusion of normality was handpicked but fake. At the same moment with that thought, the might of his aura that had lurked like electricity hidden away captured you and enveloped you completely because you were too close. You dropped to one knee when the smoke entered your trachea and turned your answer into coughing, making your eyes water with tears. The aura was too heavy, too mighty, too overwhelming, the feelings it conveyed too high and arrogant for you to handle at once. It was a brutal attack on your mind, setting your guts and mind on fire as if you could be crushed any moment.

_Make it stop! Make it stop!_

Fingers slid along your jaw under your chin and tilted your head upwards, forced you to look at Lucifer's satisfied face and condescending smile. His touch was almost lovingly caressing your skin, making every inch of it burn more because of his aura until his fingers were the only sensation you could feel at the edge of passing out. You gasped and flinched, turned your head away in an attempt to escape this intensity, but this man knew everything about torture methods. His hand closed around your throat and he lifted you up for a moment as if you were light as a feather.

The moment dragged on and felt like an eternity of struggle before he lowered you to sit on the working desk - a moment that couldn't have been longer than a handful of seconds -, let go of you and leaned in instead, arms left and right of yours. His mouth hovered next to your ear and breathed down on you with every word when he asked of you: "Tell me all you know if you want it to stop. What game are you playing? What's your goal?" His hips, your legs wrapped loosely around them, caged your body as much as the crushing sensation of his aura and made escape impossible.

Not just escape, it made everything impossible - thoughts, breathing, _living_ \- because you could only feel the barely bearable weight and the fire all over your body.

"I can't -! Please!", you gasped and pushed off of his chest only to be pressed down to the working desk with another weak gasp, struggling to escape the pain. Did it grow more unbearable with every second or were you growing weaker? Of course you were no match for Lucifer, of course you couldn't -! "No!"

Hands closed around your wrists and nailed them to the desk and Lucifer towered over you with his mighty wings effortlessly – you felt his presence more than you saw it because your eyes threatened to get engulfed with darkness.

"Then let me tell _you_. You came here by Prince Diavolo's invitation and abused his trust to subdue my brothers. Somehow, they let you live and now, arrogant naive _human_ you came here in order to play with me. But look at you, how you slowly succumb to my power instead. Did you think you could win?"

Right before it grew too much, the weight on your body and soul softened a good amount and the iron grip around your wrists disappeared. You pushed back blindly, fell from the desk's edge and onto Lucifer's armchair, sweeping stacks of papers along with you onto the floor during your fall. Breathing heavily, you clung to the desk's edge as if wood could be protection against whatever Lucifer wanted to do with you -

"Stay away!", you exclaimed a lot weaker than you expected and reached for your throat, wishing that you still had your pendant, _something_ against him! But the only thing you had were words. Words would have to save you. Right now, you weren't dead yet because Lucifer was curious and also knew that you were no threat to him at all. His face told you that he knew that. "I will explain everything but don't attack me anymore!" Your hands sank to your side.

"Attack?", Lucifer repeated, amused. "What you feel is simple excitement. You humans can't but fall under a demon's spell hahaha ..." His smile brightened and so did the intensity of his aura, which felt like dropping stones on your weakened self.

"STOP!", you shouted. What did Lucifer have to get excited about?? "Fuck!" It took you a while to regain enough composure to lift your head and continue: "I'm _not_ here because of why you think I am! Diavolo asked for your help. We need you.”

Lucifer lifted an eyebrow. You braced against another wave but nothing followed on this reaction and so you carefully went on: "Barbatos might go on a rampage, that's why Diavolo froze time for now. He has to control Satan's ritual as well or else the Devildom might get destroyed and so my job is to get you out of here because you're the only person who can help." You exhaled. It was complicated, to say the least.

"What makes you think that I care for that?" Lucifer narrowed his eyes. The air's temperature seemed to rise again.

"W-what? We're talking about the destruction of Devildom here."

"So? As I see things, _you_ need something from me that I don't care for at the slightest." Lucifer extended a hand and brushed the working desk to the side, closing the distance between you again. You stared at him wide-eyed. _What?_

"Why don't you play a good human and show your master how much you need it?" His smile remained unchanged. "Why don't you _beg_ me for my help? Come, entertain me. Get on your knees and kiss my shoes, peasant." 

You stared at him for one breath, two. You looked in those cold eyes while thousand thoughts passed your mind, wondering if he kills you if you ran. Should you run? _Could_ you run? He had you in his grip. What were your chances? Could you do anything other than ... obey him?

You lowered your upper body slowly, bowed deeper, heart racing, feeling the aura more intensely again.

"Please", you asked, trembling. You had to convince Lucifer, not only for everybody else but for your own life too. "Please Lucifer, we need your help. We can't save everyone without you." You closed your eyes but before you could continue, Lucifer crouched down and pulled your head up, interrupting you abruptly.

"Your master doesn't want to hear about 'everyone'", he said derogatorily. " _You_ want it. _You_ are nobody's slave but mine. Act like it.”

"Yes ... master." You gripped his hand that loosened its grip around your neck and pressed a kiss against his fingers, shaking. "Please save me. Don't let me die here." You moved closer to him, pressed against his chest and accepted the sensation of his aura instead of fighting it. "Guide me, master, please show me what to do", you begged, "I'm tired of being strong all the time. Please, please don't let it end here." You startled when Lucifer leaned your head back and brushed away your tears. His face didn't show what he felt.

"You're clinging to a wrong sense of pride without any reverence for it. It's pathetic to do that. I should put you out of your misery." He lifted his free hand and materialized something from his aura, forming black leather out of nothing. "But not yet. It's convenient that Diavolo gave me something that's important to him so readily. It'll make my revenge easier." He fastened the leather around your neck like a collar, not too tightly but a constant reminder of Lucifer's might. Where the leather - part of Lucifer's aura - touched your skin, you felt the crushing burning sensation that raged around you as well.

"Remember this feeling. You belong me." Lucifer rose, extended a hand and waited for you to take it. You let him pull you onto your feet and watched him walk toward the door. Was this ... success? Why did it feel so much like defeat?

When Lucifer opened the door and walked on, an invisible chain from his aura tugged you along from where you were standing with a jerk that made you almost fall to the ground.

"Guide me" suddenly won a whole different meaning.  
  


* * *

_  
When the other one acted_

“You are a great sorcerer, Solomon. Surely I can trust that you can control the ritual until we've dealt with Lucifer and retrieved your ring?” Diavolo carefully moved around the toxic snow flakes that were hanging in the air, frozen in time.

“Aren't you able to keep time frozen outside the House of Lamentation while we deal with the demons inside?” Solomon put his head back and looked into the heaven, face darkening. “There's no way I can hold this for long. Not without supplies. Unfortunately, Asmodeus is currently not available for me.”

“Neither is Barbatos. My ability is not refined enough to change the flow of time for such a small place. People are no problem but I barely manage my own castle in terms of confined space. The House of Lamentation would be impossible.”

“What happens if you fall unconscious? Will it stop your spell?”

Diavolo stopped and looked back at Solomon in surprise. “Well, no. My spell runs out naturally when my power runs out. ... It's a strange thing to ask, Solomon. Do you have an idea for this dilemma?”

“I thought of something, yes.” Solomon sighed. He approached Diavolo, put an arm on his shoulder and leaned against the demon, who watched him in confusion. “It's nothing personal, Lord Diavolo.”

“What?” He reacted too slowly for what came next and in the next moment felt something touch his lips lightly before his world lit up and fell into deep darkness.

Solomon meanwhile lowered the pendant again in a clenched fist and shook his head, ordering the person behind him: “Lead me to the other demons. It's time to move on to Plan B.”  
  


* * *

_  
What happened when time went on_

Lucifer led you deeper and deeper down the stairs of the House of Lamentation. You had a slight idea about where you were headed but were too afraid to ask. It was enough work to fight against Lucifer's aura already and keep moving.

“A human's body naturally reacts” had not been a lie at all. Actually, the constant flow of pain was like being under light electricity that, not high enough to kill, danced along your skin and made your hair stand on end. While it wasn't exactly pleasant, the tensity got bearable after a while. Still, because of the constant heat you weren't able to feel how your surroundings grew colder the deeper you descended after Lucifer, until you two were standing at the entrance to the famed Underground Tomb. This was what Lucifer had figured out as Diavolo's position after you had failed locating him outside the House of Lamentation.

“Time has gone on again.” Lucifer waved his hand slightly by his side and you felt yourself pulled forward by your collar, lost your balance and stumbled against his arm. He didn't notice, was focused on something on the far side end of this enormous hall instead. You followed his gaze and saw it too: around the tomb with the familiar forbidden Grimoire on it, a bunch of demons were laying with their backs against the stone. You recognized them.

“It's the others!” You let go of Lucifer's arm and moved forward in order to check up on them, but at the same moment you moved out of the way a green light shot past you and loudly collided with Lucifer. It has been so fast and your human reaction so slow that understanding the fight that broke out then took another second – when Lucifer was heavily thrown through the air in direction of his restrained brothers and landed on his feet, wings extended widely to soften the impact. “Barbatos?”

You stared at the demon, who had come from nowhere, next to you. From up this close you could feel the foreign impression of Barbatos' anger, but there was still the unwavering smile on the butler's face. He paid you no mind and pushed himself off in another green light that was too fast for your eyes to catch, and you only heard how he attacked Lucifer physically. Lucifer evaded quickly, ascended higher and higher - you stared at the shadows of two magnificent demons fighting with open mouth. Every blow dealt by Barbatos was meant to kill and every powerful flapping of Lucifer's wings saved him but also carried him higher under the Gothic ceiling.

_Diavolo must be here somewhere._

“Lucifer!”, another voice called out from the other side. You dropped your gaze, searched around and noticed that a (still starkly naked) Asmodeus tried to get up next to the tomb but seemed to be pulled down violently by something. "Lucifer, over here!"

"Asmo!" You hurried over, ducking behind the peristyle to avoid getting into the ongoing fight that carried on with full speed, and found that all the brothers were gathered around the heavy stone, all more or less conscious. Most were leaning casually with their backs against the stone block, watching the fight that was unfolding before them wordlessly. Only the twins didn't fit into the main picture because Belphie was sleeping – and Beel was pressed flat against the stone floor, still struggling against the magical chains to get up with heavy grunts.

“Barbatos, stop attacking Lucifer!” Asmo's eyes glittered and you threw your head around just in time to see Barbatos fall out of his pattern of attack, in direction of the ground. Lucifer didn't let the opportunity pass by unused and beat his wings once, sending the butler with a precise kick against the stone floor – which cracked open under the impact. Not that it slowed the fighting down, no. Seamlessly, Lucifer landed, punches followed on kicks, even though this time, Lucifer seemed to have the upper hand.

“Don't you _DARE_ pull weak punches against him, Barbatos!”, Satan shouted. “Stop supporting him!”, he hissed at Asmo by his side.

“Why, could you not handle that, Satan? Barbatos, be a good boy, come here!” Asmo stretched out his arms as if asking for a hug and tilted his head, slowing Barbatos down again. You wanted to ask about Diavolo's whereabouts because he was nowhere to be seen. You had basically succeeded in bringing Lucifer out of his room, what now?

“Asmodeus, don't use your power on Barbatos anymore. Just be quiet. And Barbatos, end this charade and restrain Lucifer at once!”

The voice came from behind your back, from the shadowy peristyle that had been just out of sight that you hadn't noticed someone standing over there. It was only Solomon, coming closer with long strides. Following the might of his pact with both demons, Asmodeus' lips were sealed from talking and Barbatos took two more attack so bring Lucifer to his knees and pin him down so that he couldn't move anymore.

Right! Solomon had pacts with both demons! Why didn't this thought come sooner to you?

“Solomon”, you spoke up, assuming that it must've been Diavolo's ideas to solve things like that while your part of the plan had been getting Lucifer here. After all, Solomon had gone with Diavolo to resolve the situation with the pact outside. 

“Shut up.” Solomon reached the brothers, bent over in front of Satan and reached for his hand. “I'll be taking that, thanks Satan.” With a baring of teeth, Solomon pulled his ring off Satan's hand without that the demon could resist in any way, and put it on his own hand instead. "Finally."

“Solomon?” You stared. Had Solomon just told you … to shut up?

"I have to take matters in my own hand. You just had to insist on staying here, didn't you?"

"What?” You stared at Solomon, who was standing right there, but could also be a completely different person by the things he was saying. “Did the curse affect you too? You're … you're acting strange.”

“He's serious”, Lucifer intercepted. Even pressed down to the ground by Barbatos he still managed to look dignified and glare down at you two, his aura concentrated around him in a dark cloud because of Barbatos' proximity. It didn't matter that he was subdued physically, Lucifer was Avatar of Pride through and through. “Humans are fickle creatures. Look how quick they are to betray others.”

“Don't reduce this on humanity.” Solomon walked past you and stopped in front of Lucifer, his face almost hostile. Lucifer couldn't look up to him anymore from this position and angrily stared at you instead. “This was supposed to be an exchange year that I was invited to enjoy, but look how much worth this had! I'm tired of how long it drags on. So, I'll give you a choice, Lucifer, Avatar of Pride, because you're the only one who makes rational decisions when needed here.”

Solomon extended his hands sideways and you could see that, wrapped twice around his wrist, the pendant was dangling freely!

“Satan's ritual is about to destroy the Devildom. Diavolo will not stop it. But I will, if you agree to forging a pact with me.” He ignored Lucifer's scornful snort with raised finger. “If you don't, you and your brothers will die. Everything you've sacrificed from your angel days will be for nothing, again. All you have to do is to swallow your pride – you've done it for your sister once, but will you repeat it for your brothers?”

All this time, you listened in shock. Had there been signs that this had been Solomon's plan? Was this still connected to Diavolo's plan? Or was this really betrayal? Had you simply failed to see this side of character in Solomon because you'd never really paid attention to him? What in the world was happening??

Even if it wasn't meant seriously, that was dirty by Solomon. A pact??? NOW? That was so dirty. Diavolo couldn't have supported this! Or could he?

_Solomon, the pendant!_

As if cursed, you once again didn't get to say something because someone else put a hand heavily on your shoulder and walked past you with determined expression – Diavolo! Where did HE come from?

“I'd rather die than make a pact with you, human.” Lucifer locked gazes with Diavolo and Diavolo nodded. Lucifer's eyes narrowed and he hissed at Solomon: “The other way around maybe. Why don't _you_ kneel before me at the place you belong to? How dare a treacherous worm like you speak about terms when I can squish you to death with my little finger? Stop hiding behind Barbatos' power, coward. Why don't you free me and see what I can do before treating me with those conditions?”

While he was talking, Diavolo snuck closer and suddenly lunged at Solomon from behind! He took Solomon down with himself and rolled over the ground, while Solomon shouted: "Barbatos, help!" - and at the same time you saw that the pendant that had been wrapped around his wrist had been torn off and was lying on the ground unattended.

Now. Or never.

You extended a hand. It wasn't far, right there. The pendant, barely out of reach.

Lucifer's fingers closed around the wood before you even made one step, and with the collar still around your throat you fell to the ground, engulfed in the sudden stream of Lucifer's aura that burned, burned, burned, burned, so much hotter than ever before …

Through tears in your eyes, the last thing you saw was that Lucifer stood with the angel's tear in his hand in front of you, surrounded by darkness, and from the corners of your eyes you thought you saw someone in white trousers step to him and, …

– then the darkness swallowed you wholly.  
  


* * *

  
From all the times you've woken up today, this must be the most comfortable way to do so. Because this time, somebody was holding you in his arms, pressed against his chest, and it was warm and nice to lay there with your eyes closed and relaxed.

Then you remembered what happened and your eyes flew open.

“SOLOMON?!” You pushed yourself off with a scream and looked hectically around, only to meet a lot of concerned looks in return. The demon brothers were crouching all around you.

“Uh, yes. Hi.” The sorcerer in question stood a bit to the side next to Diavolo, Barbatos and Simeon, looking like a beaten puppy, but waved shyly at you when he heard your scream. Then he folded his hands apologetically. “I swear it sounded worse than I meant it. I'm sorry. But it worked!”

“What the FUCK, Solomon?” You shook your head. "Is that your idea of a PLAN?"

“I told him that it was a bad idea to only ask _me_ for assistance.” Simeon laughed, put an arm around Solomon's shoulder and slapped against his chest with another smile. Solomon flinched. “This bad boy can fit so much misunderstandings and get so many beatings for it! Maybe Luke is a bad influence after all, with all of his 'Don't trust demons'!”

"Who cares? It's over." Belphie poked you in the side. "I'm tired."

You looked at him. You looked at the others. You slowly began realizing that the brothers weren't in their demon forms anymore and their eyes and faces were kind and warm when they looked at you.

"All of you ... Is it over? Is it really over?”

“Aw, don't cry, honey, we'll make it up to you a hundredfold!” Asmo reached out and wiped away the fresh tears from your cheeks. You noticed that he had Simeon's cape (cloak?) loosely around his shoulders but didn't have time to ask because Mammon put a heavy hand on your shoulder and declared loudly: “The Great Mammon can't excuse bad treatment! Listen up, you, me and Goldie will go out on a nice expensive trip and Lucifer will unfreeze her to honor the day!”

“I will not do such a thing.” Lucifer, who sat slightly behind you, cleared his throat. “I –“

“This is just like in _I think I might secretly have a twin sibling because sometimes I do things that I don't remember doing at all and everybody tells me that it was me so maybe I should start observing my own movements or go search for my other half?!_ Lmao there's this iconic scene where –“

“Levi, I wasn't finished talking.”

Levi ducked under Lucifer's evil gaze but you could only focus on the missing aura that had been suppressing you constantly for the last couple of time. You reached for your throat but the collar was also gone.

“Who cares, we're all glad that the most of it is over.” Satan ran his hand through your hair. “I'm sorry, MC. I think I looked through your suitcase but I promise that I will forget everything private that isn't meant for my eyes!”

“Your books burned”, you answered automatically and added, when Satan froze in shock: "Only some. They're outside, in the garden."

“I'm hungry”, Beel said.

“ **As I was saying** ”, Lucifer picked up again, his aura growing darker, looking threateningly at his brothers. He didn't get to say what he wanted though because Diavolo interrupted him.

“Solomon and I will stop Satan's ritual before we accidentally destroy the Devildom after all. We'll meet up for dinner at nine, everyone!” He grabbed Solomon's arm, who was now caged between Simeon and Diavolo.

"Wait, Solomon!" There was one more important question before they left. "It was all part of your plan, right?"

"Of course. I talked it over with Barbatos and he said I would succeed.", Solomon answered but maybe his smile appeared one second too slow on his face because you weren't exactly convinced for some reason. Was Solomon ... _hiding_ something?

However, after Diavolo and he left in order to do what they had to and everybody around you continued bickering, apologizing and commenting on your adventure, you were more caught up in the embarrassment that the brothers _remembered_ what had happened than that you had time thinking about Solomon. The brothers didn't remember every single detail, some more and some less, but it still made your cheeks run red.

“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!”, you apologized to the brothers and hugged them, and the brothers apologized to you. It wasn't after a longer time that Asmo noticed goosebumps on your skin and finished the lengthy conversation with: “Well, let's go to our cozy rooms and snuggle up against each other before dinner, I call dips as the first!”

“No, why do YOU get this right? I usually sleep with MC”, Belphie argued when everyone rose and chimed in, voicing their opinion as you moved in direction of the stairs in the group ("Belphie, don't word your sentence like that, don't forget that the Great Mammon is ALWAYS first!" - "Tsk, that's normie stuff. N-no that doesn't mean that I don't wanna get into the cuddling! Cuddles are ... r-romantic."). You opened your mouth to answer and found yourself softly pulled back by someone walking slightly behind you – Lucifer.

“I don't really get to say anything when my brothers are around”, he explained calmly. You stopped and turned to him half-ways curiously. You noticed how Lucifer averted his gaze, seemed to struggle with his words and still held onto your wrist as if he forgot to let go of you, so you closed your other hand around his. He lifted his head in surprise. You smiled.

“You don't need to apologize.” You lifted your hand to your throat and traced where you thought you still felt the tingling sensation of Lucifer's aura. “It'll heal.”

“No, I _have to_.” To your shock, Lucifer sank to one knee and inclined his head before you. You immediately reached out, feeling the heat rising to your cheeks again, and grabbed his shoulders in an attempt to make him stand up again. He put his head back and met your panicked gaze calmly. “I remember the words you said to me. I once made a promise to Lilith that I will protect her forever and I failed her completely. I promised to watch out for you and turned out to be one of the greatest threats to your life. Allow me to make it up to you somehow, please. Voice your wish, and it will be yours. No conditions.”

“Lucifer, no. Get up.” You pulled at his coat to make him stand up.

“Is that your wish?” With silent laughter he followed your request. “Fine, I will not urge you to choose. However, do tell me once you made up your mind, okay?”

“Yes, sure.” You didn't know what else to say. Faced with such words you'd ideally return a whole speech about … time will tell or it being okay or something – but truth was, you were _beyond_ exhausted. And having everything go back to normal had reminded you of just that. This had been a hell of a ride.

Not that you understood entirely what Solomon's motivation had been for not simply pressing the pendant against Lucifer's lips when he had the chance to but why he instead went on about a pact with Lucifer – was it something Solomon had wanted to do on his own or had this been part of Barbatos' vision of the successful future? Like, did Solomon _want_ to betray you? Did he hold a grudge against you? ... Diavolo would surely talk things out with the sorcerer. And you didn't want to doubt any longer.

Also where had this whole curse come from? Why now, how had it happened so conveniently? And then, this tear …

“The tear”, you spoke up when you picked up walking by Lucifer's side, following the trail of voices that were heard from way up the staircase, still arguing. “What is it?”

“An angel's tear.” Lucifer reached for his throat, fiddled and pulled out a necklace but there was nothing fastened to it. The tear was gone. “Angel's almost never cry. To be honest, Diavolo had promised me that he would destroy it then, but he went back on his promise obviously. Maybe for the better after all. Or else you might not be by my side anymore. I couldn't have excused that toward myself.”

“Whose tear was it?” You accepted the necklace he let slide into your open palm. “Yours?”

“When I fell from Heaven I was no longer an angel. My tears didn't manifest into magical items, for that it was too late. So, no.” Lucifer shrugged.

“Then I was correct.” You put the hand with the necklace against your chest, where your heart beat strong and rhythmically.

Thankful that it was finally over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINISHED. Thank you for your continued support!  
> It's been fun to figure out how I solve the hell of a situation that I created in the last handful of chapters (mind you, the original version didn't feature Barbatos, Simeon and Solomon at all). While writing I also figured out what I think about certain characters and why (or why not) I like some of them more and some less.  
> I think I answered everything I wanted in this story? But if you wanna know something or let me know something for a fact, hmu 
> 
> Random trivia: I wrote HSH because I wanted to try out writing longfics: having your content already finished and just beta-ing it for a consistent uploading schedule.  
> Long story short, it didn't work.
> 
> Maybe I'll see some of you again in a new story :)


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